The Breaking Point
by TMadison
Summary: A/U- Set at the start of Season 4. Daniel goes into a downwards spiral as he deals with Molly's death. Betty sets out to help him find his way back. How can he go on without Molly? The answer is closer than he ever imagined.
1. Chapter 1

**The Breaking Point**

_Author's Note: This fic is set at the beginning of Season 4. It won't really follow canon events...at all. Though, I use some dialogue. It would be my take on Daniel as he deals with Molly's death and how Betty could have played into his spiral downward…and then back upward. _

_It always bothered me that Betty didn't really notice how far over the edge Daniel was until the Order of the Phoenix. So…needless to say, there will be no Order of the Phoenix here. Just Daniel going over the edge all by himself. Hope you enjoy and let me know what you think. Should I continue? Thank you._

* * *

**Chapter 1**

It had been four weeks since Molly had passed away on the night that Daniel knew he would remember for the rest of his life. One of the biggest moments of his career and the death of his wife would forever be bound together.

Now, he was left here alone with the guilt that he was almost sure would be the death of him. He missed Molly so much and they had barely begun their life together.

Married for only two weeks….they still should have had more time. A month…two months….maybe, even six months.

For the first week, he slept in their bed. He could still smell the scent of her shampoo on her pillow. It gave him some comfort. When that had begun to fade, he once again began his slow decent into the type of heartbreak that he was sure he would never escape from.

After all, how could he? He had failed her and it was yet another reminder that she was gone. He had let her down. He should have been there with her as she took her final breaths and left this earth. He should have been the loving and caring husband that he had vowed he would be.

Instead, she died alone. He should have been there with her. She had a fever. He should have been by her side. Now she was gone and he was here. He felt nothing but emptiness.

The first two weeks following Molly's death, Daniel didn't want to see anyone. He slept most of the time, only surfacing long enough to attend Molly's memorial service. Even now, he couldn't even recall how he got dressed that day, much less who was there. The only thing he remembered was Betty's hand holding on to his supportively.

As the fog began to lift, the one thing that he did know was that Betty had been his salvation in the weeks since Molly died. Since he had managed to type out the text telling her that she needed him, she had never left his side.

She handled most of the phone calls. She handled almost all the memorial service arrangements. She also made sure that he ate. He could still remember her comforting words telling him that he needed to keep up his strength, as she placed the plate of food down in front of him, still remained tucked in the back of his mind.

When he left for Tibet, he asked her to go with him. He didn't know if he could make the long trip alone. He didn't want to be alone.

It was Betty's words that gave him the strength to get on the plane though. She told him that this was something that he had to do and that he had to do it alone. If she needed him, she was just a phone call away and she would be here waiting for him when he returned.

And though it wasn't exactly the welcome home that he had expected, she was there to bail him out when he returned go arrested upon his return.

Across the town car, Betty just sat and listened as he went on and on about how airport security personnel were a bunch of idiots and that he was going to get each and every one of theme fired.

"Just calm down." Betty extended her arm across the seat, reaching for his hand. He didn't hesitant taking the bit of comfort that she offered him. "It's going to be okay."

He took a deep breath, reached for her hand and looked out the window. "They lost my wife, Betty." He gazed back over at her and he felt like he wanted to cry. He was tired. He was emotional and he wasn't sure he could take much more.

"They found her. That's what matters." Her tone was peaceful and smooth. "I thought you were going to dispose of her ashes though."

"I kept some." Daniel said softly. "Do you think that Molly would have been okay with that?" Daniel gazed down at their hands. Their fingers intertwined. He rubbed his thumb along the side of her hand.

"Of course she would be." Betty gave him a gentle nod and a subtle smile.

Daniel hoped that Betty was right. Then again, he trusted her instincts more than his own right now.

Betty knew what was best and without her, he didn't even know if he could go on.

* * *

Once she and Daniel got back to his apartment, Betty watched Daniel carefully. His behavior since he had returned had been erratic. One minute, he was calm. The next, he was ready to fly off the handle and punch someone.

From across the room, she watched him unpack and tried to get his mind off the fact that he as soon going to be alone in this apartment for the first time since Molly's death.

She told him about her first week as junior features editor, avoiding the unpleasant details. She knew Daniel well enough to know that even in his grief. He would try to make things right for her. So…she knew it was best to just avoid the most troublesome topic of all. _Matt_.

"Oh…and then I put Marc in the hospital." She cringed as she looked up from her laptop. She assessed Daniel from across the room. She could tell that he had not been eating. He looked thinner. He looked even more pale than normal…and what was with the beard now. Betty was regretting her decision not to take that trip with him.

Not that he needed a baby sitter. She was his friend. She had been there for him since the night Molly had died. Sooner or later, she was going to have to let him deal with things in his way. He was a grown man.

"The hospital?" Daniel smiled. It was the first time that Betty had seen him smile in weeks. She even thought she might have seen a spark in his eye…even just a subtle one for a brief moment. It faded quickly though.

"Uhh….I put walnuts in the muffins that I made to try to smooth things over with some of my new co-workers. Turns out he was allergic to them." She said hesitantly.

"Is he okay?"

"Yeah…Yeah. He's going to be fine." Betty waved it off. "Whether or not, he'll ever talk to me again is another thing." She glanced down at the clock and realized that she needed to get back to the office. Her Operation Bail Out Daniel had taken longer than anticipated.

She quickly began to gathered her belongings. She closed her laptop and began to put in back in the case.

"You're leaving?" There was a hint of sadness in Daniel's voice when he uttered those words that hit Betty directly in the heart.

"I have to get back to work." She glanced over at him.

"You can take the rest of the day off." Daniel told her. "I was just thinking that we could…." Betty could see that he was searching for a reason but he was too tired to come up with anything.

Betty took her laptop off her shoulder and made her way across the room to where Daniel stood silently at the end of the bed. He just held onto the railing at the end of the bed.

She approached him, placing her hand on his arm. "It's only my first week, Daniel. I don't think that would be a good idea. Anyway, Matt is already being tough on me."

"What? Daniel said sharply. His eyes snapped.

"Daniel, I can handle it. I don't need you to take care of me." She said gently.

"I know." He nodded and only looked at her for a moment. "You don't need me."

"Daniel, have you been sleeping?" Betty asked.

"No…" He sighed. "You're right. It is probably better get back." He pulled away from her and continued to unpack. "I….I'm really tired. I think I'll take some of those sleeping pills the doctor gave me and try to get some sleep."

"I can come back later," Betty tried to act cheerful. "I'll bring some…"

"No…I don't need you to do that, Betty. You've already done too much for me already," Daniel moved back towards her. The look in his eyes made Betty feel uneasy. In his eyes, there was no light. The blue eyes seemed consumed with darkness. "I just want to be alone."

"Daniel…I'll stay." He reached for her face, caressing her face in his hands. He placed a kiss on her forehead.

"I'll see you later, Betty." He said calmly.

"I…"

"Just go." He snapped harshly. Betty thought she was going to feel her head spin from the way he switched moods in only a matter of seconds.

"Okay…I'll go." Betty started to turn away. "But I will see you later." She tried to head towards the door but found herself unable to budge from her place as she watched him carefully.

"Okay." He said hoarsely.

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	2. Chapter 2

**The Breaking Point**

_Author's Note: Thank you for the comments and feedback. I do appreciate it. All I can say is hang on for a bit. If you know my stories, you know there is nothing to worry about._

**Chapter 2**

With a bag of take-out in one hand and her lap top over one shoulder and briefcase in the other hand, Betty went to reach over to ring the doorbell. However, she stopped herself. Daniel was probably sleeping and the last thing she wanted to do was to wake him up.

Betty put down her briefcase and began her search for the keys to Daniel's …and formerly Molly's apartment. As she continued her search, she was starting to wonder if it was a good idea for him to stay here at all. Perhaps, he could stay with his mother…or Becks.

Half way back to the office this afternoon, Betty realized that being alone was the worst thing for Daniel. In fact, it took everything for her to not turn around and run right back. Only the fact that she had a meeting with the features department kept her from turning back and taking the rest of the day off like Daniel had asked her.

Like Daniel had asked. The disappointed tone rung of his voice when he realized she wasn't staying stung deep within Betty and put a struck a pain through her heart.

During that whole meeting, the only thing that Betty could think about was Daniel and him being alone in the apartment. The second thing was his mood swings were a concern. She had never heard Daniel talked to her that tone. Not even in their most heated and passionate arguments….or even in the early days at MODE when he made her life miserable.

Daniel was mourning and everyone grieved differently. But he was not acting right. He was not himself. He was not sleeping or eating. She knew that Daniel was dealing with something that was extremely difficult and something that she couldn't even come close to understanding.

True…Betty had lost her mother but losing a spouse was different. Also when you add in the fact that he and Molly had only been married such a short time. That obviously only added to Daniel's pain. Being a newlywed was supposed to be one of the happiness times of your life. For Daniel, that was not the case. Instead of frolicking on a beach with his new wife, he had just taken some of her ashes to their final resting place.

He didn't need to be alone right now. He needed her…He needed someone.

That was why she was here. She was ready to do whatever she had to do to help him just like she did in those first few weeks when she never left his side.

Finally, she found the key, which had fallen to the bottom of her bag. She stuck the key in the lock and opened it quietly.

As she moved inside, she realized it was dark. She actually found that to be a good sign because it meant that Daniel was sleeping.

She placed her things down just inside the door. The last thing she needed to do was trip over something in the dark with all her hands full.

She closed the door and started to find her way to the living room, feeling her way towards the lamp that she knew had to be here somewhere. After all, she had practically lived here for two weeks straight, in the wake of Molly's death. She had even spent a night or two here while Daniel was gone too, as she helped prepare for his return.

Her fingers found the switch. When she flipped on the switch, Betty couldn't have prepared herself for what she had found. The place looked like it had been burglarized. She was surprised she didn't break her neck just walking the few feet to turn on the light.

It looks like a bomb had gone for. Her guess was that bomb was the D-Bomb. Daniel.

There was furniture overturned. One of the dining room chairs had been smashed against a the bookshelf. There were broken knick knacks all over the floor.

Her heart dropped. "Daniel…" She whispered, as she scanned the wreckages "Oh My God."

Then, it dropped against and she moved towards the bedroom to see that Daniel wasn't there. He was not sleeping in the bed. The suitcase that he had unpacked was missing from beside the dresser where she had last seen him put it this afternoon.

He was gone….and she was consumed with guilt that she had left him alone. She felt sick…physically sick. How could one person do something like this? How could Daniel do something like this?

Should she call his mother and tell her what was going on? Should she try to seek him out and help him? Was he beyond her help now?

Suddenly, she remembered the lingering soft kiss that he had placed on her forehead. It was a move that had surprised her at that moment. In all their years of friendship, he had never kissed her. Hugs…yes.

He had never kissed her. It made her wonder whether he was trying to tell her something. Was he saying good bye to her?

In her experience, she knew that sometimes when Daniel felt like he had no-where to turn. He did stupid things. Things he regretted later.

He couldn't have gotten far and she had to at least try. She needed to reel him back in before it was too late and she lost her best friend forever.

* * *

Across town, Daniel sat alone in a hotel room. A brand new bottle of scotch sitting on the table across from him. His suitcase on the bed with all of his belongings. His cell phone sat on the dresser across the room. A photo of Molly and a photo of Betty lay on the table, flat beside each other.

He stared at them as he poured his first glass of scotch. The first of many.

He knew felt like there might be some happiness at the bottom of that bottle. He was sure of it. Any …if nothing else, it would erase the pain he was feeling.

The pain of losing Molly. The pain of losing Betty to her new job that he had pushed so hard for her to get….even if it had been a coin toss that had decided fate. Fate had delivered him to this room.

Across the room, his cell phone rang. He didn't even bother to move from his chair as he took a drink. He didn't need to get up. He knew exactly who it was.

The phone stopped ringing. He felt lift of relief….but then, it started ringing again….and again. By the time, it stopped. He didn't even need to check his voice mail to know why she was calling. She had seen what he had done to the apartment. He felt ashamed. He didn't even know what had come over him…except that he was just so angry about the way his life was going.

At 35 years old, no one should have to deal with this. He knew he wasn't the only one to face this. Regardless, he felt utterly alone and like his life was over.

Nothing every good happened to Daniel. The only good thing he still had that was his was his friend Betty. Right now, he knew that if he answered the phone. He knew she would come running. She would be at his door and open her arms wide. She would welcome him in. She would take care of him. She always did.

That is where he wanted to be. It was his safe place right now.

That is why he kept his distance from her. He didn't want his toxic life to rip her energetic spirit apart. Inevitably, it would. It was just a matter of time.

As he eyed the prescription bottle on the table, he knew that he couldn't let his life ruin anyone elses.

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	3. Chapter 3

**The Breaking Point **

_Author's Note: Thank you so much for the comments and feedback. I really do appreicate it. _

* * *

**Chapter 3**

There were times since Betty and Daniel had met that she wished that she didn't know so much about Daniel. She knew the ins and outs of his life, almost as well as her own. She was probably knew things about Daniel that no one else knew.

She knew that he had a fear of clowns. She knew that he was allergic to cats and that he was self-conscious about his weight. She even knew that he was stubborn as a baby She even knew that he had scar on his right arm from this trip to summer camp when he was 11 years old.

There were also other things that she wished that she could push to the back of that file on Daniel that she kept neatly stored in her mind, like the brand of condom he liked to buy and some of the details of his sorted sexual past that spilled over some take-out and a late night of working at MODE.

Right now, she was grateful though. If she didn't have all that knowledge about her best friend, she would never have known how to access Daniel's bank account and credit card accounts online.

So, it didn't take her long to figure out generally where Daniel had gone. The challenge was going to be getting to him before anything bad happened.

As luck would have it, it wasn't that difficult to get the information she needed. She had to admit though she did feel a twinge of guilt for bribing the clerk at The Amsterdam Hotel but this was one of those moments when Betty knew that it was okay to bend the rules. Daniel's life could depend on it.

When the elevator door opened onto the eighth floor, she turned to the left and made her way down the hall to Daniel's hotel room that he had checking into.

She had to admit that he was predictable…but maybe, it was because she knew he so well…and knew that he would be check in under the name- _Mr. Sickington_.

She knocked on the door of his room. After several minutes, there was still no answer. She looked both ways down the length of the hall before pressing her ear to the door. There was no hint of activity on the other side.

It made her hopeful that he was sleeping peacefully. It also made her desperate as other horrific images flashed through her head. Betty needed to get in there.

Then she turned to see a young waiter headed her way with a bottle of scotch. It was familiar bottle that she had spent numerous occasions purchasing for Daniel to restock his apartment. She knew that this was her opportunity to get inside.

"Oh…thank goodness." She smiled at the young man. "I was wondering when you were going to get here with that. I was just on my way down to complain. We ordered that over an hour ago."

"I'm sorry." The young man said apologetically. "I had to go out and find this brand…and it's not exactly easy to find."

"Well, I won't tell your manager if you let me back into my room. I seemed to have forgotten my key," said Betty. "My husband probably fell asleep. He doesn't seem to be answering the door."

"Mrs. Sickington?"

Betty felt a twinge of something pretending to be Daniel's wife, especially considering that was why she having to rescue him in the first place. She also figured that the young man had no idea that the man on the other side of the door was Daniel Meade or had probably even read a newspaper recently to know that Daniel's wife had recently died.

She quickly stopped her reasoning. She knew that she had far more important things to focus on. Daniel needed her.

"That's me." She took the bottle from him. He opened the door for her. "We're newlyweds." The waiter gave her a strange look like he didn't believe her. "Are you going to let me in?"

"Uh…yeah." He still seemed unsure but he moved forward with a key that opened the door. She reached for the door, sticking her head inside. There was no sign of Daniel.

She turned back and reached inside her bag and pulled out some bills. "Thank you."

He took it and then Betty moved inside. She closed the door quietly behind her. She moved forward cautiously. Her body tense as she prepared herself for anything.

The further inside that she moved, she felt a bit of relief to hear sounds of life inside. There was the beautiful sound of the shower running that told her that Daniel was okay.

She continued to scan the room. His suitcase opened, exposing his belongings. It was now obvious that he had no plans to return to the wrecked apartment.

Then her eyes captured the half bottle of scotch on the table. Beside it there was a glass and a photo of Molly.

"Daniel…" Her hand fell over her heart. It felt like it was breaking for him.

She came to rest on the edge of the bed. Betty hated the idea of Daniel drowning his sorrows in a bottle of scotch. She knew that was a dangerous path for him to take considering his family history but it took a temporary detour to find his way back onto his path. It was what had to be done. She wasn't going to let him take this any further though.

As she sat there, she was torn. How would he react if he came out of the shower and found her sitting on his bed? Would he be angry with her? Would he fly into another fit of rage that she had invaded his privacy?

No. She knew that Daniel would never hurt her. Hurt himself…he might do that. And that was exactly why Betty couldn't leave.

She was in this for the long hall. She was going to get him through this. Just like, she got him through the Sofia fiasco. Just like, she had helped him after his accident with Alexis. She was going to help him no matter what she had to do.

She got up from the bed and proceeded to make herself comfortable. She took off her shoes, placed her bag on the dresser and began to sort through Daniel's suitcase for something to sleep in. There was no way that she was going anywhere.

He obviously needed her and there was no way she was going to walk away from him ever again.

* * *

Daniel opened the bottle of sleeping pills and deposited two of the small pills in his large hand. As he was about to take them, he realized that that mixing sleeping pills and the amount of scotch that he had drunk tonight was an extremely bad idea.

He put the pills back into the bottle. He reached for the lid of the bottle and it fell onto the floor. After retrieving it, his hand knocked the entire bottle of pills down the sink.

"Crap!" He held onto the counter as he felt the effects of the alcohol. He knew he was going to regret those drinks in the morning.

Well, it was probably for the best. It wasn't like he was going to be using the pills tonight. He was probably going to have no problem sleeping on his own. He sat the empty bottle on the counter.

As soon as he got out of the shower, he could go to sleep and everything would be okay in the morning. He just needed to sleep. The extra of scotch that he had ordered was not a good idea and would only lead to making things far worse than they already were.

He stripped down to nothing to prepare to finally take that shower; his eyes caught the photo of Betty that sat on the counter beside the empty prescription bottle. .

The longer that he stared at her sweet face, the sadder that he became. He realized how wrong he was for running from her and avoiding her calls. The sounds of her voice messages ran over and over in his mind. She knew she was worried about him and though her messages didn't say so. He knew that she knew what he had done to the apartment.

As soon as he got out of the shower and before he went to sleep, he would call her and tell her that he was okay. She deserved that, especially after everything she had done for him over the past month since Molly had died.

She had put her life on hold to help him. She had postponed her new job to help him. She had given up her time to be with him. She had done everything for him. Now he had to find a way to keep on living and to show her that he could do it. That would be the way that he could thank her.

Daniel stepped into the shower. He immediately felt himself lose his footing. He tried to reach for something….anything. It was too late. He slipped further and further backwards until his head fell against the wet, cold tile. The shower continued to beat down on him.

The pain was intense and Daniel just wanted to get up but he felt himself slipping further and further into the darkness.

As it faded away, he heard the sound of the bathroom door being flung open and a second late, someone knelt at his side on the floor of the shower. It took every bit of his power to turn his head. It was then that he saw Betty's angelic face. He saw her reach upward to turn the shower off and grabbed a towel to throw over his naked body. Her lips were moving but he couldn't hear her as everything faded away.

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	4. Chapter 4

**The Breaking Point**

**Chapter 4**

_Author's Note: Thank you for your comments and feedback. I do appreicate it._

* * *

She knew that she would never get the images out of her mind of Daniel lying on the bathroom floor, naked as the day he was born. She would also never forget her own fear that she had been too late to help him…and that if she had only stayed with him, he would not have tried to take his own life.

She should have seen that he was in pain and stayed with him. If she had…if only…things would be so different.

Instead, she sat beside Claire in the waiting room, awaiting the news of his condition and whether or not, he was going to pull through this.

"I'm sorry…" Betty whispered.

"This is not your fault." Claire reached for her hand.

"I should have called you when I found out what he did to the apartment."

"You got to him, Betty. You probably even saved his life. If you had stopped to call me or even wait for me to get to the apartment, things could have been a lot worse," said Claire.

Betty could feel the tears welling up in her eyes again, even though she felt like she had cried all the tears she had left in the ambulance. "What if I was too late?" She could barely say it.

"Daniel has been through worse. You know that."

Betty did. She knew that Daniel had been high on pills the night and drunk the night that Alexis had rushed him to the hospital. This time was different though.

"I know. This time, he just wanted to be with Molly."

"How exactly did you get in his room?" Claire asked.

"I told a room service waiter that I was his wife. He actually believed it…thankfully," said Betty.

"His wife?" Claire looked amused.

"Yeah…I guess that guy hasn't pick up a newspaper and didn't know that I'm obviously not Molly Meade," said Betty.

"No, you aren't. No disrespect to Molly but Betty, you've been around longer and you have been through more with him than anyone has. Everytime that he has needed you, you have been there for him."

"It was my job."

"That's not true…and we both know that." Claire chuckled. "It's more than that."

"I…." Betty didn't know what to say. She also knew there for Daniel had more to do with her job too. She did it because she cared for him and he was her best friend. Before she could gather her thoughts about her response, the doctor appeared before them.

They both slowly rose and made their way towards him, clutching onto each other's hands.

"Mrs. Meade…" The doctor began. "I have some good news. It appears that Daniel didn't ingest any of the pills that we thought. So we didn't have to pump his stomach.

"But the bottle was empty? It was full earlier," said Betty.

"The important thing was that he didn't take any them and it doesn't appear that he drank enough alcohol to do any damage. It looks like what we have here…is just a case of him slipping in the shower," The doctor told them.

"Thank God!" Claire's hand squeezed Betty's.

"I do have some bad news though." He said gravely.

X

Daniel lay in a hospital bed, trying to remember how he got to the hospital in the first place. The last thing he remembered was his wedding day. Had there been an accident? How did he end up in a hospital bed? Where was his wife?

They were supposed to be on a plane to Tahiti for their honeymoon.

With stitches in his forehead, he felt horrible but he couldn't disappoint her. After all, he married her and he was going to give her everything. Even…if it was only for a little while.

Of course, he still hoped he could talk her into that cancer treatment.

"Where is my wife?" Daniel watched the nurse move around the room.

"She is down the hall with your mother and the doctor." The nurse informed him.

"She's okay?" Daniel just needed confirmation.

"She's perfectly fine…just worried about you, "The nurse laughed. "You really must be more careful from now on."

"I will…" Daniel was relieved that she was safe. He was sure once she got here she would explain everything. "Can you tell her that I want to see her?"

"Sure…I'll be right back." The nurse exited his room. He rested his head back against his pillow and he felt a peaceful feeling rush over him as he remembered their wedding day.

The wedding had not been the fairy tale that he imagined she would picked. He imagined that she would have picked carriage, white doves, and a white wedding dress fit for a princess and him, her Prince Charming, exchanging their vows at St. Patrick's Cathedral in front of all their family and friends.

Instead, their wedding day had been filled with the unexpected: being married by a woman dressed as an alien, having Adele sing at their reception. It had been the perfect day though and he wouldn't change a thing. He could still picture in her white gown, her trademark frames and her long black hair cascading over her shoulder. She looked perfect.

And there was nothing that Daniel wouldn't give her. Especially now, that their time was so limited. He was going to change that though. He didn't care what it took. He was going to find a way to make sure they were together for a very long time.

Daniel opened his eyes and saw Betty at the doorway. A smile crossed his face. "Why are you standing there? Get over here, Betty."

She moved quickly to his bedside. "I'm so glad you are okay."

"Sit…"He moved over a little and patted the bed. "You need to stay off your feet. Are you feeling okay?" His hand grazed her arm.

"I'm fine. You are the one that got hurt." Betty chuckled.

"Oh…I know. I guess. What happened?" His hand went to where his stitches were.

"You slipped in the shower. I found you collapsed on the floor in the hotel room."

"I should have been more careful," said Daniel.

"Yes." She gave him a playful little shove. She blushed. "Nothing like seeing you naked to make my day."

"You know you loved it." Daniel laughed.

Having her close, he just wanted to hold her. He didn't waste any time, drawing her into his arms and getting one of those hugs that he loved so much. He loved her so much. He never wanted to ever let her go.

"God…I had this overwhelming feeling that something horrible had happened to you." Daniel drew back a little because he wanted to see her face.

"I told you that I'm fine." She said gently.

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to hoover. It's just wanted to take care of you." Daniel lifted his hand to her cheek. "Just like you always take care of me, Betty."

He continued. "There isn't anything wrong with me wanting to take care of my wife, right?"

"Daniel…" He quickly put his lips onto hers. There was way too much talking going on for two newlyweds. He wondered if there were rules against consummating their marriage right here in the hospital.

As he kissed her, he didn't even care that he had a headache or that Betty was putting up a little resistance. It was probably because she was worried about pushing thing with his recent injuries.

Just wait until the honeymoon, he would show her just how well he really was.

* * *

Betty stepped out of the hospital room for a moment. She told Daniel that she needed some air while he talked with his mother. After that kiss, she needed a lot more than that.

As she kissed him, her mind screamed about how wrong it was. He thought she was his wife and obviously thought she was sick also, like Molly had been.

She knew she should have set the record straight but the doctor told her allow Daniel's memory to return on its own. This was possibility a way for him to deal with Molly's death. His memory would return soon.

And that did make sense to Betty but the fact that Daniel thought that she was his wife. That didn't make sense at all.

She just hoped that Claire could find a way to smooth over the confusion….somehow.

Claire exited Daniel's room and took a deep breath. "Did you tell him?" Betty asked.

"No…we can't do that, Betty."

"I know…" She sighed.

"Just don't worry about anything. I'll take care of everything for you and Daniel." Claire slid the engagement ring off her finger and took Betty hand, placing in her palm.

"Why are you giving me this?" Betty asked.

"Because if you don't wear it, he will ask where it is, "said Claire. "I'll get a wedding band delivered from Tiffany's. It will be here within the hour."

"What? I can't…it's just wrong." Betty shook her head.

"You have to do this for him. You saw what happened when you only left him for a brief moment." Claire rested her hand on Betty's shoulder. "I'm sure that his memory will come back soon and when it does, everything will be back the way that it should be."

She continued. "When he gets out of the hospital, I'm going to have the Meade plane take the both of you away from here."

"My job…I just started."

"Don't worry about that. Daniel needs you right now. Your job is to help him get through this," said Claire. "Now get back in there. He's asking for you."

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	5. Chapter 5

**The Breaking Point **

_Author's Note: Thank you for the feedback and comments. I really do appreciate them_**.**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

Once Daniel was released from the hospital, he was pleasantly surprised when he and Betty were put into a town car and taken directly to the airport with their luggage in the truck of the care. Upon their arrival, they found the Meade Publications jet fueled up and ready to whisk them away on their honeymoon.

About 30 minutes after take-off, Daniel noticed that their rapid and unexpected departure to France, instead of Tahiti, wasn't the only thing that seemed a little off. Betty looked tired and distance as she sat in the seat beside him.

She had been running around for two days; getting ready for this trip, taking care of him and obviously neglecting herself in the process.

"Sweetie, you look tired." Daniel reached for her hand. His fingers lightly brushing her diamond engagement ring and her wedding band.

"I am. It's just been a busy couple of days. Being worried about you…"

"Come on…" He got up from his seat, holding out his hand for her to take. She looked up him.

"Where are we going?"

"It's my turn to take care of you," said Daniel. "There is a bed in the back of the plane."

"Daniel…I'm fine right here. I just need a blanket."

"It's a long flight. I know I can make you more comfortable in the back," Daniel raised an eyebrow. He wanted to her to know that he was serious.

"You know what the doctor said. Daniel….I know you have more in mind than just sleeping."

"I remember what he said. He told me to take it easy for a few days but I promise I'll try to be a good boy." He continued to hold his hand out for her. "Now get up before I have to carry you."

She still didn't budge from her seat. He moved forward to pluck her out of her seat and throw her over his shoulder. The doctor might have put a restriction on certain activities for a few days. He didn't say anything about sleeping the same bed and holding his wife. After all, this was their honeymoon and they were already on borrowed time. He wanted to make the most of every single second.

"I'm going. I'm going." She reached for his hand. He helped her out of the seat and began to leave her to their sleeping chambers.

Once inside, she took a look at the bed that was barely going to be big enough for the two of them.

"It's not very big."

"Well, I've never had any complaints." Daniel laughed.

"I…I…didn't mean that." She smiled shyly. "I meant the bed."

"Just sit down." He placed his hands on her shoulder and made her finally come to a resting place on the edge of the bed. He took off her glasses and placed them on the small table beside the bed.

He knelt down in front of her and reached for her foot. His hand cradled her leg in his hand and removed one of her heels with his hand. He followed suit with the other. Daniel never broke eye contact with her for a second.

"Daniel…" She whispered.

"Lay down." Daniel rose from his kneeling position.

She nodded and compiled with his request. She laid her head against the pillow. He climbed in beside her. Now that she couldn't escape him. He was determined to find out what was going through her head the past few days.

He brought his hand to rest on her arm. "What can I do to see a smile on your face, Betty?"

His eyes fell on her lips. "I'm sorry, Daniel."

"Tell me what's wrong? I've just felt like something has been on your mind."

"It's nothing."

He pulled her hair away from her face. "I know when something isn't right with you, Betty. Just tell me…."

"I don't know how too."

"Sweetie, I love you. There isn't anything you can't tell me."

"Daniel, there is something I need to tell you. I was going to wait….but with the accident; I didn't think it was the right time."

"Okay?" He braced himself.

"There seems to be some confusion about me. I have to clear up a few things."

He watched her bit her bottom lip, awkwardly.

"And…"

"I'm not sick. I'm perfectly healthy."

Daniel felt his body surge with excitement, as he pulled Betty's lips to his and kissed her enthusiastically. The sadness that he felt about her and her illness turned out to be nothing and now they really could move forward and live a long happy life together.

He pulled his lips away from her and looked in her eyes. "That's great, Betty. Why…how? I just don't understand they said that….you know what, it doesn't even matter. I'm just glad that you are going to be okay."

He shook his head, then kissed her on the forehead. "I'm so happy. I just can't imagine my life without you."

"Daniel…there's something else that you really need to know," said Betty. "And I think it's going to change everything."

"What?" His eyes misted with tears.

"Daniel… I'm…"

Daniel's mind flipped through the possibilities. "Pregnant?" He immediately reached her stomach. "Are we having a baby?"

"No…No…" She shook her head. "That's imp…I mean, it's not what I'm trying to say."

"Then what changes everything, sweetie?" His hands rested on the curve of her waist.

"We aren't married, Daniel. There was some confusion…"

"It was that model….or alien or whatever that married us, isn't it? She didn't have the authority, did she?"

She seemed to hesitate for a moment. "Uh…yeah." She looked away from him. "Something like that."

"Betty, look at me." He guided her eyes so that they met his. "I can't say I'm not disappointed that we aren't married."

"I know. I should have said something sooner. It's just I was so afraid to tell you everything because I didn't want to upset you."

"Well, I'm thrilled that you are going to be okay…and as for the wedding thing, that can be fixed. As soon as we get to Alexis' house in Provence, we are going to be married."

* * *

After their long trip, Betty had never been so thankful to arrive at a destination in her life. Though, they had slept for most of their trip and weren't tired. She was grateful for the comfortable bed, the hot steamy shower and peaceful house to get a chance to relax a little.

With DJ and Alexis in Paris until later in the week, Daniel had to put off the quickie wedding for a few days. She still didn't have the heart to tell him that they weren't really a couple for fear that he would dive right back into his depression. Possibly doing something that would cause her to lose him forever.

This was not a chance that Betty was not willing to take.

As for the wedding, she could only hope that his memory would return in the meantime. Then, she would help him deal with his reality and his life without Molly. She knew that it was only a matter of time until his memory came back. The doctor had told her and Claire that it might only be a matter of days…or maybe a week.

Until then, she would just make the best of things. She and Daniel could do some sightseeing; go out to dinner and maybe some dancing to pass the time. It would be great for both of them. She would be rested and relaxed when she returned to MODE and into her new job that Claire that promised would be waiting for her upon her return.

As Betty closed her eyes, she allowed the water to pour over her. The hot, steamy shower felt so good on her skin.

Then something happened that she didn't expect. She felt a pair of hands moving around her waist that could only belong to one person.

She jumped. "Daniel…" Her arms went to cover herself as much as she could. However, she knew that Daniel's eyes sight was much better than hers and he probably already got a look at everything she had to offer.

"I'm sorry…I just couldn't help myself." Daniel whispered against her ear, as he pulled her from underneath the shower spray. "You are so beautiful."

"Didn't you learn anything after your accident?" Betty asked.

With a little resistance, she finally allowed him to turn her towards him. She wanted to protest but she found herself unable to. She was helpless against his charms. Her mind screamed to do something to stop this. She couldn't though as she felt his hands on her body.

"I have you to hold onto…and I'm never going to let you go." Daniel lowered his lips to her neck and she felt a wave of shame and guilt as she allowed him access.

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	6. Chapter 6

**The Breaking Point **

_Author's Note: Thank you for the comments. I really do appreicate them._

**Chapter 6**

* * *

Wrapped in a fluffy white towel, Betty exited the steamy bathroom and made a mad dash to her purse to grab her cell phone. She knew she only had a limited amount of time until Daniel was done in the shower.

She scrolled through her contacts and hit the number of the one person that could help her or give her some advice in this type of situation. As she waited for her to pick up, Betty unzipped her suitcase to search for her flannel pajamas.

That should dial back Daniel's libido….at least temporarily. Her purple kitten pajamas were just the extinguisher to kill any type of desire he had for her.

And she knew that she needed to put out the fire that had been started just on the other side of that door. She couldn't trust herself to make the rational decision once Daniel shared pawing at her and placing his lips on her body.

If she removed the fact that she was completely naked in a shower with Daniel, even she was stunned that she allowed him to put his hands in places that…well, just made her face burn like fire to think about.

Yes. She had been about two seconds from allowing her best friend…HER BOSS…to make love to her in that hot and steamy shower. It filled her with shame just thinking about how much she wanted him and taking advantage of him in his condition was a bad idea.

The man has memory loss. She reminded herself.

The desire he was feeling was not for her. It was for Molly.

He was confused and now so was she.

After the third attempts, someone on the other end of the line picked up and Betty had never been so relieved.

"Hilda!" Betty said softly.

"Betty! Is that you?" Hilda asked.

"Yes."

"Why are you whispering? And where are you?" Betty's sister asked. "No one has heard from you…don't you know that you can't disappear without telling someone what is going on with you….just because you think you are some big shot editor now doesn't mean that you are too good to pick up a phone now and then…." Hilda rambled.

"Hilda, stop. I only have a minute." Betty glanced at the door to see if she could still hear the water running.

"What? I'm just saying…"

"I need your help."

"First, tell me where you are."

"I'm in Provence with Daniel."

"I thought he just in the hospital getting his appendix out," said Hilda.

"That's just a story that Claire fed to the media to explain why I had to call the ambulance after I found him naked in the shower." Betty explained.

"Whoaa… Naked? Like partially or totally?"

"No…Hilda, he showers with some clothes on." Betty realized that she was getting no-where, as she heard the shower turn off.

"Did you see it?" Hilda whispered into the phone. "Are the rumors true?"

"Oh…yes." Betty said a little too enthusiastically she realized once those words slipped from her lips. "Focus, Hilda. I don't have time for twenty questions. I need to know how to turn a guy off." Betty flipped open her suitcase. She needed to change into her pajamas before Daniel got into the bedroom.

"Why did you turn him on?" Hilda was obviously intrigued. "Isn't it a bit soon or him? I mean, he just lost his wife."

"It's a long story, Hilda and I just really don't have time to explain." She began to dig through her suitcase. "I just need to know what I can do to get him to….

Betty heard the door open and she turned back to see Daniel standing there looking at her with THAT look in his eye.

"I gotta go, Hilda." Betty hung up the phone and she quickly tossed it back in her suitcase.

She could hear the sound of Daniel's feet padding across the wood floor, moving in behind her. "I'm so glad you aren't dressed yet."

"I was looking for my pajamas." She reached in the suitcase and realized that there was nothing here that she recognized. "What…"

"What's wrong?"

"They have to be here." Betty continued to search, as she realized that Daniel was pressed firmly against her. Her hand felt something silky. She lifted it from the suitcase, revealing a silky red negligee.

Her mouth hung open as she realized that someone had switched all her clothes with something more appropriate for a honeymoon.

_Claire._

* * *

"You do know that we aren't on our honeymoon…right?" Betty yelled from the bathroom. "Technically."

As he sat on the edge of the king size bed in his boxers, he waited for her to emerge from the bathroom. He didn't understand why she was suddenly so shy. They were a couple and they were in love.

"We will be soon enough. Now get your cute butt out here." Daniel chuckled. "Don't make me come in there."

"Wouldn't you rather just sleep? I mean…we had a long day." Betty called from the other side of the partially open door. "Anyway, it barely covers me and it doesn't fit right…and its way too tight."

"Sounds great. Don't worry though. It's won't be on you for long," said Daniel. The anticipation was killing him. His heart beat faster just thinking about Betty's curves in that silky negligee. There was something about this moment that felt brand new and exciting.

"Turn out the lights."

"Seriously…" He fell back against the bed.

"Fine…."

He heard the sound of the door opened. He leaned up and saw that Betty was standing there in the short silky gown.

"Okay…are you happy now?" She said shyly.

Daniel nodded. "Oh…yeah." He soared up from the bed and moved across the room. "Betty, you look…wow."

"I'm going to go change now." She turned to go back.

"Betty, please don't." He reached out and touched her arm.

"You know you aren't supposed to…"

"Betty, I feel fine. I think that can handle making love to you."

"I don't think it's a good idea," Betty said softly.

He stepped forward and gripped her by the waist. "Betty, what is wrong? You keep telling me that everything is fine…but I just have a feeling that there is something you are afraid of."

"I told you."

"Yes…I know you told me that you weren't sick. I think that would be a reason for us to celebrate," said Daniel. "Don't you know what this means for us?"

"You don't know and that's why I can't do this, Daniel."

"Betty, I love you."

"No, you don't. You just think you do," said Betty.

Daniel pulled her closer as Betty continued to look away from him. "Betty, I would have married you, even if you hadn't thought you were sick. You have been an important part of my life for a very long time. Three years ago, my dad changed my life when he handed me the best thing that ever happened to me."

"Three years ago?" She gazed up at him. Her glasses off and her brown eyes were wide. As much as he loved seeing her with glasses, he loved seeing her beautiful eyes unobstructed.

"Yes. You changed my life and I would be nothing without you," said Daniel. "You take care of me and now I want to take care of you….forever."

"I love you…and I know you love me." He said adamantly. "In one way or another, I've always loved you. I can't imagine anything that I would want more than for us to be together."

"Daniel…." Her brown eyes widen slightly. "I…"

It was then that Daniel realized that if she wasn't going to listen to his words. He needed to show her with his actions.

A quick as he could move, his lips were on hers. The kiss was soft and gentle at first and then it slowly built into a full fledge inferno in a matter of minutes. Her arms wrapped around his neck as they showed no sign of slowing down now, as he gently guided her to the king size bed.

Thing continued to build as they climbed onto the bed.

"I love you." She uttered as he moved to her neck and his hands continued to roam freely over her body.

As much as he loved the silky material that covered a small portion of her body, he realized that it was way too much material for his liking. He worked quickly to remove it, leaving her as naked as she had been less than an hour earlier when they were making out in the shower.

As they proceeded to make love, Daniel felt Betty let go for the first time in days or perhaps even as long as he had known her and he never felt close to her than he did at that moment.

As he went over the edge, he couldn't help but think about how they began, how they became friends and now….they were here. It was like Molly brought them together.

_Molly. _

_Oh My God…Molly._

With Betty wrapped in his arms, he rested his forehead against hers as they both tried to steady their breathing. It suddenly occurred to Daniel what had just happened and he didn't even know what to think about the fact that he had just had sex with his best friend.

"Daniel, are you okay?" Betty gave him a curious gaze.

He kissed her on the forehead. "Yes."

He held Betty tight in his arms as the memories of Molly came flooding back.

* * *

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	7. Chapter 7

**The Breaking Point**

_Author's Note: Thank you for the comments and feedback. You have no idea how much I appreicate them. :)_

**Chapter 7**

* * *

Betty was awakened by the squeaking sound of the bedroom door, the smell of eggs and bacon and the gentle steps of feet across the wood floors. When Betty peaked opened her sleepy eyes, she spied Daniel, who was fully dressed in a crisp white shirt and jeans. Just the sight of him gave her the sudden urge to drag him back to bed and re-live the passion of the night before again and again.

She continued to secretly watch him as he moved towards her what appeared to be coffee, eggs, bacon, toast and some fruit on a tray. And let's not forget the flower that he must have picked from the garden outside.

He carefully placed the tray down on the table beside her bed and turned to wake her up. Her eyes met his. The feeling she was experienced was one that had never come over her before, when it came to Daniel….at least not before last night.

"Good Morning." Daniel grinned.

"Morning…" She slowly slid up and out against the pillows, pulling the comforter with her, trying to keep her body covered when she realized that she still naked from the night before. The last thing she remembered before drifting off with in his arms wishing that she could feel that way forever. Getting dressed was not on her list of important things to do in the wake of their encounter. The feeling of her skin on his was almost addictive.

He smiled at her, obviously amused by her tussled appearance. She knew she looked a mess. No doubt her hair was probably sticking up.

She reached upward to smooth it down with one hand while holding the comforter in place with the other. Though, she had a feeling Daniel wouldn't have minded if the covers slipped away by the way he was looking at her right now.

A look that made her want to kiss him…but she probably needed to brush her teeth first.

His smile made her flood with the same warmth she had felt the night before. The things he had said about loving her. She felt like he was talking about her. She hoped he was talking about her. After all, he didn't know Molly three years ago.

_Yes. He had to be talking about her. _

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Betty watched him on the edge of the bed with an amused grin on his face. Her stomach felt like it was filled with a million butterflies.

"You are beautiful in the morning."

"You've seen me every morning for years now."

"I know but this is different…" Daniel played with the edge of the comforter and then glanced up at her with adorable grin.

And there it was. The flash in his eyes. The smile on his face.

Betty knew that she was falling in love with him.

In life, Betty had been no stranger to taking chances. She took a chance and swim in a tank full of sharks when she took the job at MODE. She even took a chance on the man sitting beside her on the bed when he asked her to come back to MODE and be his assistant after she had quit.

But what was happening right now between the two of them was admittedly the most dangerous thing that she had ever done.

The risk involved was that there was a very likely chance that she was going to get her heart broken. She didn't care though. It was like the saying goes….It's better to loved and lost than to never loved at all

And she knew she loved Daniel.

Even though, she knew it was wrong. After all, he still had to mourn his late wife…and until he regained his memory, he wasn't going to be able to do that, which meant that he wasn't going to be able to truly move forward with his life….with her.

Maybe more than anyone, Betty understood how important Molly was to Daniel. She would never try to take that away. She just hoped that when the time was right. He would be able to…..She had to stop this. She wasn't going to think about the future because that would be getting way ahead of herself.

. She couldn't think about that because it opened up a million and one questions in her mind.

Because she wasn't sure that she could ever measure up to Molly in Daniel's eyes? Could he ever love her that much? Was there enough room in his heart for her? Or….could Betty live in the shadow of Daniel's deceased wife?

She just needed to prepare herself for the pain that she knew was going to be ahead for her…and for Daniel. No matter what she would be there to support him. If he wanted something with her, then they would go down that path together. If not, she wouldn't push it.

"Breakfast? That was very sweet, Daniel." She smiled softly. "Thank you."

"I figured that you would be hungry. After all, we both worked up an appetite last night." Daniel moved over a bit to get closer and kiss her cheek. "I wish there were more around the house. You think that Alexis would have made sure there was some kind of food in the house."

"Our trip was kind of sudden." Betty then bit her bottom lip as she watched carefully at how anxious Daniel was. "Daniel, could you get my nightgown?"

"Oh…yeah." Daniel moved quickly over to the dresser to retrieve her glasses and her nightgown that was lying on the floor. Upon his return, she slipped her glasses on and then took the silky gown in her hands.

Betty could sense that there was something that Daniel wanted to say and she almost felt like it was going to be about last night. Perhaps, he was having doubts about what happened between them.

"I think we should go into town later this morning and pick up a few things," said Daniel. "Have lunch…do some sightseeing…maybe, some shopping and find you some more lingerie." He tugged pat the silk nightgown, clutched against her body.

"Okay…" She nodded.

"I looked into the wedding," said Daniel hesitantly.

"Oh…" Betty said curiously.

"Got some bad news there, I'm afraid." He paused for a moment, looking away before turning back towards her. "We are going to have to wait until we get back in the United States to get married. Since we are only going to be here for less than a week, there is no way we can make that happen. You're okay with that, right?"

"Yes….Daniel, you don't have to marry me. I told you that," said Betty. "We're not…" She stopped herself. "I mean, I only thing I want is to spend time with you…whether we are married or not."

Daniel smiled and took her hand. "That's what I want too."

* * *

Daniel remembered everything. He remembered Molly. He remembered Betty. He remembered everything that happened before and after his accident.

As they spend the day together, Daniel could sense a shift in Betty and he could tell that she had some feelings that were growing inside of her, that he realized were new. It made him unable to tell her that he remembered everything.

Opening of that can of worms would only cause her to close herself off from him and make her think that he regretted their evening together. The truth was he didn't and the last thing he would ever want her to feel is that she meant nothing to him.

Right now, she was everything to him. In fact, she always had been there. And she had helped a piece of his heart for years now.

With the day was winding down, Daniel sat with Betty in the gardens behind Alexis's home. With his best friend perched across his lap and her head on his shoulder, he held her hand as they listened to the sounds that danced through the air, lifting her delicate fingers which still held his rings and brought them to his lips.

He saw the corners of her mouth lift slightly as she kept her eyes closed. She was worn out from their busy day. They had shopped together, had lunch and dinner and enjoyed each other's company.

During their day out, Daniel did his best to get inside Betty's head, especially after the events of the evening before when they made love. It was a moment that left Daniel with feelings that he was only beginning to understand.

But if he learned anything from loving Molly, it was that life was too short and that you shouldn't waste a moment. If you feel something, you should follow your heart and loving Betty could never be wrong in Daniel's mind.

"Were you scared?" He leaned his head against hers and entwined their fingers.

"Of what?" She opened her eyes. Her eyelashes brushed against his cheek. He could feel her breath on his cheek as well.

"When you found me…like that?"

"Yes."

During the day out, Betty had told him about the night of his accident and how afraid that she had been that he had taken those pills. However, she never mentioned Molly at all. She didn't even mention the memory loss either. He tried not to overthink that.

"I'm sorry." He kissed the side of her face, sympathizing with her over the fact that he knew exactly the terror that she must have been feeling when she found him. He had felt it with Molly.

"I thought I was going to lose you." Betty pulled her head up. "It was horrible"

Daniel touched her cheek lightly. "Betty, you are never going to lose me."

"You can't promise me that Daniel. No one knows what the future holds." Betty tilted her head.

"I know….but I can promise you this moment," said Daniel sincerely. "And every moment for the rest of my life."

"Daniel, let's just concentrate on this moment." She said with a hint of sadness in her voice. "Okay?"

Daniel just nodded as he pulled Betty closer and placed his lips on hers.

"Let's go upstairs." Daniel whispered, as he pulled away. Their lips still barely touching.

"It's kind of early…we haven't even had dinner yet," said Betty softly.

"I think that dinner can wait…" Daniel captured her lip quickly.

Betty giggled as she hopped off of his lap and helped him up. Then, they went back inside and went up the stairs and closed the door.

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	8. Chapter 8

**The Breaking Point**

_Author's Note: Thank you for the feedback and comments. I appreciate them._

**Chapter 8**

* * *

In the 35 years of Daniel's life, he had experienced a lot. He had been given the best in life and access to things that most could only dream of.

He had traveled the world. He had partied with some of the hottest celebrities and models…and slept with his share. He had done a lot of drugs and drank his share of the world's finest scotches.

He was handed a job that most would die to have. Just ask Wilhelmina Slater. Thanks to Betty. He did that job and ended up finding his way and doing it well. Then, he found a son and lost a son. Then, he married Molly and lost her too…way too soon.

The person that knew all of the good and the bad and had been there with him was laying with him here in the darkness of their room, nestled amongst the plush comforter and pillows of the king sized bed, wrapped in his arms.

As he gazed over her, he felt overwhelmed by the woman that had been his one constant in his life for the past three years and the woman that he knew was always on Team Daniel, even though she knew all his secrets.

She was still right here.

Daniel traced his hand down Betty's arm. He just wanted to get closer to this amazing woman as recovered from their second round of the evening. Daniel was so anxious for a third.

Yes. Daniel had done a lot of things in his life but Betty was the most addictive drug he had even indulged in. How could be have not seen this sooner what had been right in front of him?

She opened her eyes. Her dark eyes gazing back at him. It was his best friend, who opened herself up to him and enveloped him with a blanket of warmth, love and security, filling his need for closeness.

"What?" She gave a subtle smile.

"Nothing. I'm just looking at you and thinking how beautiful you are and how much I love you." His eyes flashed downward.

The things she had said about loving him earlier had filled Daniel's heart with warmth. He knew they were true because Betty would never lie about something like that. She was also not the type to just have a fling and jump into bed with him, if she didn't feel something for him.

"Daniel…" Betty rolled her eyes.

"What...I tell you I love you and you roll your eyes." Daniel chuckled.

Betty's smile beamed bright. "It would mean so much more if you weren't looking at my breasts when you say it."

"Well, I love your breasts too. I love all of you."

Then Betty's smile turned into a frown. "Daniel, I wish you meant that. In fact, I have to tell you that what are feeling isn't for…"

"Betty, you don't need to say anything." He brought his fingers to her lips and looked her in the eyes. "I know what I feel…okay?"

"Daniel, I need to tell you something." He saw that wave of guilt wash over Betty's features. He knew that guilty feeling. He had felt it several times since this had begun and he had regained his memory.

He pulled her even closer and brought his lips to her ear. "Just go with what feels right to you."

Daniel knew what Betty was going to tell him. Before they made love earlier, he had come so close to telling her that he remembered everything. He was afraid though. They had this fun day together and he didn't want to ruin it. He wanted them to stay in their bubble for a little while longer and hold onto her because he was starting to feel love again. He was afraid if he told her than it would all slip away and he would be in the darkness alone once again.

He had to admit though. It was confusing. Was he dishonoring Molly's memory by sleeping with Betty only a little over a month after that fateful night that she left this earth? Or would she be happy for him that he had found love again? Or actually found that love that had always been there, in the form of his sweet and quirky assistant?

The more he thought about it, the more he analyzed it, he had slowly been falling for Betty since the day she walked into his life. Her colorful wardrobe, addictive hugs and pep talks had almost become as important as the air he breathed.

She pulled her eyes to his. "But Daniel, there's something important…"

He pulled he dove for her lips. Desperate to get her to stop talking….

She didn't fight him. Instead, she melted into his kiss.

Daniel made a mental note to have her see an orthodontist when they returned to New York. These braces had to go.

In the midst of their heated kiss, Daniel heard Betty's stomach rumble.

"Oh…" Betty pulled away.

"Was that you?" Daniel chuckled.

"Yeah…sorry! I guess it's because someone has been distracting me and we never got to eat dinner," Betty grinned. "I'm starving."

Daniel laughed. "Well, I can't have that." He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss. "I need you to keep your energy up." He wiggled his eyebrows at her. "Honey, it's going to be a long night. I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?"

He jumped out of bed, grabbed his pants and slid them on. "I'm going downstairs to get my sweetie something to eat."

"Let me go with you." She started to get out of bed and he quickly moved onto the bed. "You made me breakfast this morning. I can…"

"You stay put and reserve all your energy. Let me spoil you…after all, you always take care of me. Let me take care of you."

Betty smiled shyly and nodded.

* * *

Dressed in Daniel's white shirt, Betty snuck downstairs. It had been almost 25 minutes since Daniel had made the trip downstairs and she had begun to wonder if he needed any help. How hard could it be to get some cheese and fruit and open that bottle of wine they had purchased today while they were in town?

Plus, she missed Daniel and being away from him was making her ache in a way that she had never felt before about anyone else. Even though there were things she needed to tell him, she felt things begin to come into focus and a possible future.

As she came down the stairs and turned toward the kitchen, Betty heard two voices coming from the kitchen. One was Daniel and the other was Alexis.

_Strange. Alexis wasn't supposed to be back until tomorrow night. _

"Alexis, stop it." Daniel said harshly but in a low tone. "It's not what you think."

"I know you and I think it's exactly what I think. I told Mom that this was a bad idea," said Alexis.

Betty stopped just outside the kitchen. She didn't want to walk in on their conversation. She considered going upstairs but now she found herself drawn in.

"I know that mom has always had a soft spot for Betty. She's practically part of the family but she should have never talked Betty into letting you think that she was your wife." Alexis snapped.

Betty gasped but then quickly held her hand over her mouth as she tried to calm herself. Alexis had just told Daniel what she should have. Now what was he going to think?

"Maybe mom knew that Betty was the only one that could help me. Betty pulled me back from the edge. You have no idea what she has done for me since Molly died."

Betty could feel the tears well up in her eyes as he heard Daniel said Molly's name. She immediately knew what that meant. He remembered her. He remembered.

He added. "Betty has just been trying to help me. She would never hurt me."

"It should sound like she was trying to help you. I could hear the two of you downstairs," said Alexis.

"That's none of your business, Alexis." Daniel slammed something down on the counter. "That's between Betty and I."

"The funny thing is that I used to think that Betty was different. Now I see that she's just like the rest of your assistants. Sooner or later, you get them on their back."

"Alexis, I…"

Betty knew she wait to hear Daniel's response but she couldn't take it anymore. It was all too much. She felt horrible for holding the truth back from Daniel. She felt betrayed that he allowed her to live in their dream world…all the while, knowing that he remembered Molly.

As she didn't even know if she should be mad, after all, she lied to him too. She had slept with him. But now she didn't know whether he did it because he simply didn't remember that he had been in love with Molly or whether he was using sex to forget his pain of losing Molly.

She couldn't think about it right now. Tomorrow she would figure it out. She couldn't deal with this tonight. Betty put on her purple kitten pajamas that she had found at the bottom of her suitcase and crawled back into bed. For a while, she laid there just staring at the rings on her fingers and wondered what to do.

Her instincts told her to board the next plane back to New York and pretend that these few days had never happened.

When she heard the bedroom door open, she closed them tight and pretended to be asleep. She heard the sound of Daniel placing the food tray on the dresser. She sensed him move closer to her and then, leaning over and kissing her on the forehead without saying anything.

She did her best not to start crying as he planted his lips on her forehead. But as she sensed him move away to take the tray of food back downstairs, she allowed a tear to slide down her cheek.

After the door closed, the only sound she could hear was the sound of her own heart breaking and she knew that she had no one to blame but herself.

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	9. Chapter 9

**The Breaking Point **

_Author's Note: Thank you for commenting. I appreciate it. _

* * *

**Chapter 9**

After hours of lying in bed and holding the woman he loved, Daniel slipped out of bed in the middle of the night to think about everything. He thought about everything from Molly and their marriage to MODE and even the harsh words that Alexis had said to him the night before.

He even thought about the day that he had spent with Betty and how good she made him feel. He didn't know if he was able to pick out what his favorite part was. Whether it was the flirting and laughing that made him happy to be in love again…or the passion he felt when he made love to her….or the overwhelming feeling he had to protect her from Alexis…and the rest of the world.

He sat up for hours, sitting at the dining room table, plotting his next step to take Betty as far away from this place as possible. With Molly, he was helpless. He couldn't do anything but sit by and watch things fall apart. There was no way that he was going to let that happen with Betty. He wanted to take her where they could be happy together and no one could tell them what was happening between them was wrong.

Without Betty, he would fall apart and without her, his life would once again be dark.

So…Daniel carefully planned everything out. As soon as Betty was awake, he would get them ready to leave. He would take her to a hotel, coming back for DJ later in the day, so they could spend some time with him.

Then in the morning, they would board a plane for New York, where they would make a very important stop….before jetting off again….preferably to some tropical locale, where they could be totally alone and nurture these new feelings between them. A place where they could live in their own world…

"Well, I see you emerged from your sex den." Alexis sashayed through the kitchen. "I see Betty hasn't though, you must have worn her out. She's probably unconscious.

"Will you stop?" Daniel snapped. His head turned towards the entrance to the kitchen to make sure that Betty wasn't around because he knew she would be embarrassed. "She isn't using me."

Last night when he had returned to their room with something for her to eat, he had intended to tell her the truth about everything before Alexis had a chance too.

"Actually, I think you are using each other."

"Alexis. I don't want to talk about this."

"No…I'm not stop because someone needs to get you to wake up. I've sat by and watched you screw everything up that Dad worked so hard for. All because you couldn't keep it in your pants." Alexis crossed her arms. "It all started with Molly. You just couldn't let her be. You had to take her away from Connor Owens…and because of that, he ran off with all the Meade money and the company is now in the hands of Cal Hartley."

She continued. "I know you want to believe that Betty is good but you have no idea what she is capable of. I've done some homework. I believe that it was an accident that Betty and Matt Hartley broke off their relationship the night of Molly's death."

"Leave Betty alone."

Alexis laughed. "And than slowly but surely, she worked her way into your bed by being the shoulder that you could cry on. Then, your accident proved another perfect opening for her to swoop in, get you to marry her and then get her hands on Meade…and handing the rest over to Cal Hartley….to make Matt happy. It's funny even our own mother fell for it."

Daniel felt his blood begin to boil as he got up from the table. He wasn't going to sit here and take this from her. As Daniel looked over at Alexis, he could have sworn he saw his father standing there, once again reading his the riot act.

"I'm going to get Betty and take her to a hotel. I'm not going to let her stay her and be subjected to you, Alexis. I told you over and over last night. I love her."

"Oh…and I'm sure you are going to marry her too," said Alexis. "Just like your precious Molly."

"Maybe I will…After all, I wouldn't want to end up like you, Alexis." He turned away and then turned back. "Bitter and alone. At least, I know that Betty loves me even if she didn't tell me everything. You don't have anyone."

* * *

Betty was dressed and had just finished packing her suitcase. Her next task was to go find Daniel and tell her that she needed to go back to New York. As she lay in his arms last night, she didn't pull away from him, even though it made her heart ache even more to have him hold her.

She needed to savor every second of it that she had left with him. She loved him and that is why she had to leave. While Daniel held her, she had drawn out her story in her head that she needed to go back to New York. Her family needed her. She needed to get back to her job. They could talk when he got back from some much needed time away from the spotlight….and once he was done mourning Molly.

She knew he wouldn't totally buy the part about the job but it was the best that she could come up with. She had already lied to Daniel enough. She pretended to be his wife and lover.

And he let her. Who knows how long he had known the truth?

Was he just having fun? Was he using her to get over Molly? Did he really love her? It was all too much.

"Betty…" She turned and saw Daniel rushing through the doorway, closing the door behind her.

"Alexis is home."

"Yeah I know." Betty sighed.

"You packed." He glanced over at her suitcase.

"Yeah..I have to…" She began to explain but he cut her off.

"Great. I'm taking us to a hotel right now. We are not spending another moment in this house." Daniel moved toward the closet and pulled out his suitcase. "I'll come back later to pick up DJ, so we can spend the afternoon with him before we leave."

Suddenly, Betty was fighting to find the words to the story that she had orchestrated in her mind to make things easier for both of them.

"Leave?" She stood there, watching him as he moved around the room. Not even question why she had already packed her things. "Daniel…what? Why?"

He tossed the suitcase on the bed and opened it. Then, he turned to her.

"Do you love me?" He said directly. His blue eyes gazed directly into her eyes and Betty knew that she couldn't lie to him anymore.

"Yes…" She pulled her eyes away from his. "But I…"

She could see out of the corner of her eye that he was beaming, as he lifted his hand to her cheek "That's what I want to hear."

"What's going on?" Betty stood still as Daniel placed a swift kiss on her lip, catching her by surprise. He moved to the closet to pull out his suit and moved back quickly to the bed.

"We're leaving in the morning and we're going back to New York. We were truthful with ourselves about the way things should be," said Daniel.

Betty let out a sigh. "I couldn't agree more. I'm so glad…"

"We are getting married." He said directly.

"What…" After everything, he still wanted to marry her. This what not she imagined the conversation heading at all.

He stopped, grabbing her by the arms and sat her down on the end of the bed. "Betty, I know about Molly. I remember everything. What you did to help me. It means so much to me.

"And you still…" She swallowed hard as her stomach began to tie knot and he knelt before her.

"Want to marry you? I can't live without you." As he remained kneeling before her, he lowered his head to her chest, holding her close. "I need you."

"But Molly…" She shook her head. Daniel was talking crazy. It was true. She loved him and with the look in his eyes moments earlier, she knew he loved her too but the thought that they would get married now. It was crazy.

_Insane. _

Daniel wasn't ready for that. It was too much too fast….even if he did love her, he seemed desperate to hang on to her and afraid that h was going to lose her. It was like he was losing touch with reality again and it scared her.

It scared her so much that she knew there was no way that she could desert him.

"Betty, I love you." He looked at her, still holding tight to her. "I love everything about you from your beautiful brown eyes, right down to your polka dots socks."

"But married?"

"I don't want to waste any time. Life is too short. One day, you can be here and the next you can be gone."

Betty was speechless.

"Please Betty…just say you will and I'll make you so happy. I promise. Marry me" In Daniel's eyes, she saw a light when he talked about when he talked about their union. If this was the way to save Daniel, she couldn't deny him.

"I will."

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	10. Chapter 10

**The Breaking Point **

Author's Note: Thank you for the comments and feedback. I really do appreciate it.

* * *

**Chapter 10**

Two days ago, she and Daniel landed in New York on their return from France. The original plan had been to stay for no more than a day. It seems those plans had changed though.

Instead, Daniel had kept them sequestered in a honeymoon suite, under the names, Mr. and Mrs. Wright, only a few blocks from the Meade Publications building.

Daniel said that he has some very important matters to attend to. Of course, he wouldn't tell her what they were. With every hour, Betty grew more and more concerned about Daniel and his refusal to talk about Molly.

She tried hard to get him to talk to her about it and distract him from his other favorite subject about the insistence that they get married as soon as they could.

Betty breathed a sigh of relief when she found out that there was a waiting period that was required after they had applied for their marriage license. She hoped that she would be able to kill some time and tell him that while she loved him. She wanted them to wait until he was able to make a rational decision about the next step.

Or more importantly, until she knew for herself that he was ready for them to move to that next step. Jumping into a marriage right now, while he was irrational state was a bad idea.

So…she and Daniel survived on room service, watched movies, laughed, and barely moved from the amazingly comfortable bed, located in the master suite, unless absolutely necessary.

Her contact with the outside world was limited. Mostly included a call to Hilda, who was asking a million questions about whether or not she was able to turn Daniel off, like he had a switch hidden somewhere on his body. Betty didn't answer that.

Unlike Betty though, Daniel did make periodic trips outside of the suite, telling her that he had some important errand and he always returning with a token of his affection…flowers, modest jewelry (not from Tiffany's), and chocolates. And he seemed to going into overdrive trying to please her in other departments, as well.

Betty had to admit that despite her concerns, she loved the time with Daniel as they explored this blooming relationship. But enough for enough, she knew that he needed to face everything, if he was ever going to be able to move forward and have a healthy relationship with her…or anyone else.

So…she made the call to Claire and the plan was set into motion. She could only hope that Daniel would forgive her and realize that what she was doing was out of love for him. He needed help.

"Sweetie…" Daniel came in the front door of their suite on his morning trip out, holding a bouquet of pink and white Gerber daisies. He closed the door and made his way over to her.

Betty quickly hung up her call and placed her phone on the glass coffee table. "You're back." She smiled as she eyed her favorite flowers. "And you brought me flowers."

"Yes." He leaned down and kissed her. He handed her the bouquet.

She lifted them to her nose. "They are beautiful."

"Not as beautiful as you…"

"You are so sweet." Betty could feel herself blush and she thought about what usually occurred after he came bearing gifts. "What did you want…to do tonight?"

"I need you to get dressed right now. We have somewhere very important to be." He said enthusiastically.

"Where?"

"The judge just called and he said that he can marry us…in an hour, if we can get there. Otherwise, we have to wait until tomorrow and we have a plane to catch first thing in the morning."

"I'm in my pajama, Daniel. There is no way that I can be ready and down there in an hour." Betty knew she needed to stall.

"I'd marry you in your pajamas. I don't care. I just want us to be married so that we can have a long and happy life together like we should have had."

"We should have had?" Betty asked with grave concern. Her eyes flashed from images of Daniel and Molly's wedding to a grieve stricken Daniel on the doorstep of his and Molly's old apartment building.

"I mean, like we are supposed to. I'm going to give you everything, Betty. Just like I promised you."

"We are supposed to be at Papi's for lunch this afternoon," Betty got up from the couch.

"And we will still go there. I just want us to be able to have some good news for them when we get there. If we leave now, we can be married…and be there by 1:00."

"Our families…they would want to be there."

"Yes. I know…but this can be just for us. We can always have a big wedding later." He paused. "You aren't changing your mind, are you?

Betty could see the disappointment there. The last thing she wanted Daniel to think was that she didn't love him and that she didn't want to marry him.

Of course, she did. Just under the right circumstances…when the time was right.

"No." She shook her head gently.

He moved closer, pulling her close to her. "Come Betty…I need you. You have no idea how much I love you."

"I love you too." Betty meant it. She meant every word. "Okay."

Seeing the elation on Daniel's face made this even more difficult for her. She had to help him…one way or the other.

As she went headed for the suite, Betty picked up her cell phone. When she entered the bedroom, she typed out a text to Claire.

"Change of plans…you are going to need to come to us."

* * *

Daniel couldn't believe that they made it. Betty had taken forever to get ready and they had hit every red light between hotel and here. He was thankful that the judge was running a little behind schedule though and that now they were waiting in the lobby of his office.

It seems that luck seemed to be switching into their favor and in a matter of minutes, they would be moved swiftly through their vows and he and Betty would be married.

He gazed over at her standing there next to him. She looked beautiful in the purple dress that he had bought her before they left Paris. The way it fit her figure accentuated the curves that she had hidden away from him for so long.

"Could you hold these?" She held the daisies that he bought her.

"Sure…"

"Thanks." She handed them to her and opened her purse, anxiously looking for something.

"Did you lose something? I have the rings in my pocket." Daniel asked her.

"No…I just wanted to make sure my phone was turned off. I didn't want it to ring during the ceremony." She grinned at him as she took back her flowers.

"Good idea." He reached in his pocket for his phone and just as he was about to hit the power bower, it rang. He gazed down and saw that it was his mother.

He powered down his phone and stuck it back in his pocket. There was no time for interruptions now. Right now, this was about him and Betty.

This was their beginning.

Half way across the Atlantic, Daniel had realized something. He needed to take care of some late details before took this step with Betty, that was the reason for the extra few days in the city. Their waiting period hadn't been an issue at all, like he had told Betty. Because he was a Meade, he could have gotten a judge to marry them the second they stepped off the plan.

_No waiting period necessary._

He needed time though to take care of Molly's affairs. He had to deal with the mess he made in Molly's old apartment. He had to get it repaired, cleaned up and deal with the angry landlord.

He also had to deal with packing and shipping some of Molly's remaining belongings and ashes to her parents. After all, she was their daughter for 35 years and only his wife for a microsecond of her life.

Daniel had done all of this so that he could put Molly to rest and move on with Betty- his best friend and the woman that he planned to be married to for the rest of his life. The woman that was going to be the mother of their children and the only one that he wanted to share his life with from this day forward.

Yes. He had been in love with Molly and a part of him always would be…but the love he had for Betty had been there a lot longer and was stronger than an that he had ever felt.

And he knew that Betty thought he was probably a little crazy for rushing things but he was anxious to start a life with her. After all, life was too short.

"Mr. Meade…Ms. Suarez…You may come in now." The receptionist grinned at the two, as she showed them into the judge's chambers.

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	11. Chapter 11

**The Breaking Point **

_Author's Note: This chapter is a bit lighter than previous ones. Because of the events of this chapter, I figured that needed some happy and some clarity on the situation…especially for Betty. Enjoy. _

Disclaimer: I don't own Ugly Betty yet. I'm saving up though...LOL.

* * *

**Chapter 11**

Things were happening faster than Betty had anticipated. Once inside the judge's chambers, they were moved quickly through their vows and pronounced husband and wife.

After they kissed, Betty opened his eyes to see the light in Daniel's eyes. A light that that captivated and fascinated her, she didn't know why though. She only knew that there was something very different in his eyes than she had seen in the past days.

"Will you two get out of my office?" The judge wove his hand toward the door. "I have more important things to attend to than watch the two of your make eyes at each other."

"Yes sir." Daniel grinned happily. "Thank you."

He grabbed Betty's hand and quickly led her out of the office. Once back in the waiting area, he pulled her into his arms and wrapped his arms around her. Hugging her so tight against him and lifting her from the ground

"Daniel…" Betty beat on his back at bit as she tried to hold on. Never in her life had she felt happiness ooze out of someone else and be almost absorbed into her but Daniel's happiness did.

She had never seen him so happy about anything.

He lowered her back down to the ground slowly. "We're married. God…I can't believe it. He reached for her hands and took them, just like they did when they were married a few moments earlier.

"Yes." She whispered. "We are."

Betty couldn't help it. She was happy even though, she knew in the back of her mind that Claire was on her way here to stop the quickie wedding.

That had been their plan.

She and Claire had both agreed that an objection to the wedding from her would be far better than one from his bride-to-be. An objection or refusal from Betty could send Daniel even farther into his depression, making him thing that she didn't love him and that she didn't want to marry him.

That was the furthest thing from the truth. She loved Daniel.

Now, Betty's outlook had changed. It seemed that Daniel's depression had lifted like a morning fog. Seeing how happy he was that they were married was genuine and adorable.

"Let's get out of here." Daniel kissed her gently.

On the way down, she stopped in the ladies room and sent off a quick text to Claire to tell her that everything was fine and under control. After all, Daniel was fine and happy. He didn't need professional help to deal with Molly.

She had taken the vows to be his wife and now she was Mrs. Daniel Meade.

_For better or worse._

_In sickness and in health. _

He was her husband and she was his wife and there was no going back. They would face whatever came their way together.

Once they were downstairs, Betty could barely believe it when she saw that the town car had turned into a limo. The devilish look on Daniel's face told her why but she pretended not to notice. She could almost read his mind it seemed.

By the time, they crossed the bridge to Queens. Betty was in his lap. She could feel Daniel against her. His hands attempted to bring her closer, as they continued to make out feverishly. Her glasses were flung into the back window. His hands were wandering up her dress and her hands wandered down to his belt.

"We can't do this….not like this." She nodded. "The driver…"

"The partition is up…plus, he doesn't care. He knows we're newlyweds." Daniel smiled suggestively. "And I tipped him really well."

"We are going to be at my dad's soon." Betty was tried to come up with excuses, not to have sex in a limo with her new husband.

_Her sexy new husband._

"I told him to drive around a bit." Daniel lifted an eye brow suggestively and confessed.

"In a limo though?" Betty had to say that it was something that she had never done…and especially not the way she imagined them consummating their marriage. On the other hand, it would be something that she would never forget.

She could add that to…and cross that off her Bucket List.

"Quit thinking about it and just kiss me…" Daniel chuckled as he leaned in and captured her lips once again. She gave in to him as they picked up where they left off.

* * *

As they pulled up outside the Suarez house, Daniel watched Betty struggle to pull herself together. She was so cute, as she tried to reapply her lipstick. She was so shaken from their wild encounter. Betty couldn't get her hand to stop trembling, causing her to have to apply…and then wipe it off…and then reapply her lipstick again.

Not to mention, that her glasses got bent in the process when they fell onto the seat and were crushed underneath their bodies. He had wondered what that stabbing pain was…but was too entranced in his new beautiful wife to care.

_His beautiful wife and his best friend_.

"You look great." Daniel chuckled, as he watched her close her purse and he reached for her hands and entwined their fingers.

Betty smiled shyly. He loved the shy side of her, as much as he loved the passion that he had experienced only moments earlier.

"So…how do you want to do this?" He asked her. He knew that walking through that door could be good news and bad news. They could be happy or upset. No matter what, they were married and there was nothing anyone could do about that.

"I have no idea." Betty's head fell back against the seat, as she turned her head toward him. "It's not going to be easy. I mean…how am I supposed to tell them that I married a man that they didn't even I was romantic with…"

"I heard you on the phone with Hilda though."

"God…I didn't tell her anything . If I did, everyone in Queens would know," said Betty. "I mean…I did mention something about turning you on."

"Well, you do that for sure."

He could see that the wheels of Betty's gorgeous brain were starting to turn again and Daniel had already found the cure for that. The only problem was that they didn't have time to have sex again…and especially not in a limo, in front of her father's house.

"Come on. Let's get out of the car." With every second, Daniel knew that probability of that happening was increasing.

He couldn't help himself though. He reached for her again and kissed her as he saw the driver move around the car to open the door for them.

As she allowed him to deepen the kiss, he knew that he had never felt like this before. Not to cheapen what he had for Molly but the love he had for Molly wasn't not like this. This felt completely different. Instead of worrying about the end of life, he was ready to begin a new life with Betty and the possibilities were endless.

_This was the woman that he trusted and loved more than any other._

Finally, the door opened and Betty broke away with a love struck look appeared on her face. "We better get inside before Justin sees the limo freaks out…thinking that J-Lo is here to see him or something," Betty reached for her bag, which had tumbled onto the floor. When she did, her eyes caught something in his lap.

"Daniel, you might want to zip up…unless you plan to announce the whole neighborhood what's been going on here." Betty laughed in amusement.

"That would be one way to let your family know that I've laid claim to the most amazing woman in New York City," said Daniel, as he zipped up and proceeded to follow Betty out of the back of the limo.

Once out of the limo, Daniel gave the driver instructions to return in a few hours and then they began walking up the pathway, hand in hand. She paused just before they reached the steps and turned towards him.

"Just whatever you do, don't announce anything as soon as we walk in the door. My family is not big on these types of surprise and I know that Papi is probably going to be a little upset about this, so you might as well prepare yourself….for a possible castration."

Daniel cringed at the thought. "If that's the case, we just better hope that you have a little Meade cooking then."

"Sorry to disappoint, sweetie. Remember, I'm on the pill." She gave him a look of amusement and patted him on the cheek. "Anyway, a baby is the last thing we need right now. So…you just better hope you can out run my father and his shot gun. The existence of your future children could depend on it."

Betty led him up the steps. He felt his body resist a bit. "Your dad doesn't really have a gun, does he?"

"I don't know…but I do know that he killed a man in Mexico once." Betty said in a tone, which Daniel couldn't tell if she was kidding or not.

"Please tell me you are kidding."

"Maybe," Betty smiled playfully, as she opened the front door.

Just as they started to step inside, Daniel turned to look down the street and saw a town car slowly down….and pull up to the curb.

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	12. Chapter 12

**The Breaking Point**

Author's Note: Thank you for the feedback and comments. I really do appreciate them and they help inspire me to keep going.

**Chapter 12**

* * *

As they all gathered around the dining room table, they enjoyed the lunch that Ignacio had worked so hard on to welcome Betty back home.

_Tamales._

"Lunch was great, . Thank you." Daniel said gratefully. The elder Suarez and Hilda began clearing away the dishes. "Let me help you with that."

"You are our guest, Daniel. You stay put….and call me Ignacio. After all, you are practically family."

Ignacio gave Daniel glanced directly down at him. For a moment, Daniel had to wonder if Betty's father had seen Daniel holding Betty's hand underneath the table a few minutes ago.

"Ignacio." Daniel grinned. Regardless of whether he had seen or not, it felt good to be back. He could feel himself slowly coming back to life, surrounded by the woman he loved, his mother and even though, they didn't know it yet….a family that was now his.

"So...you have this new job, Aunt Betty? But Marc said that you are never there." Justin asked inquisitively. "He said he should have gotten the job. I think he's still a little bitter."

"I'm helping Daniel with some personal things right now." Her eyes met Daniel's. "He needs me and my job will be waiting for me."

"Exactly." Claire agreed.

"Don't worry. Betty is way too valuable for me to let her go." Daniel gazed at her adorningly. "I don't know what I'm going to do without her assisting me."

"Oh…I'm sure you will figure out a way to manage." Betty said in an overly flirtatious tone. He smiled and reached for her hand, squeezing it gently.

"I'm sure I will." Daniel couldn't believe how amazing this felt. He was losing Betty as an assistant but gaining her as his wife, meaning that instead of spending their hours in the office. He would be coming home to her. He just couldn't wait.

"So how was France?" Hilda asked casually, as she brought out the flan on the table.

"You have to tell me what Paris was like." Justin felt the fabric of Betty's dress. "Is this dress from Paris?"

"Yeah. I got this in Paris before we came back to New York" Betty shook her head. "Oh…and it was beautiful there…and really…" She glanced at Daniel adorningly. "Romantic."

Underneath the table, Daniel still held Betty's hand, lighting brushing the golden rings and gemstone that rested there. He had asked her to not take off her rings. They were just very creative at hiding them. The most awkward one was when Betty stuck her hand in Daniel's pants pocket when Hilda walked in the room.

And Hilda jokingly told Betty that they needed to get a room. Betty said that she was just looking for something…though, she couldn't remember what. Or at least couldn't tell Hilda what she found because she was so flustered.

"Romantic…" Claire said. "Would either of you care to elaborate?"

"Yes. It was romantic and no." Betty said happily, as she stared across the table at Claire. Daniel could see a hint of pink in her cheeks, before she changed the subject. "Oh…Daniel took me to this amazing restaurant the last night we were there. I just wished we had more time to see everything."

"Well, I'll take you back for your birthday." Daniel beamed over at his wife. "How about that?"

"Daniel…you don't have to do that." Her eyes grew wide; obviously worried that her family would be wondering why he wanted to take "his friend" to a romantic place like Paris …again.

"Yes, I do!" He squeezed her hand. "I don't know where I would be without you."

Betty smiled at him before dropping his hand to reach for her water glass. He couldn't help it but be fascinated by the way; she simply drank from a glass. Little things that he never noticed before, things he couldn't wait to discover as they began their new life together.

"Aww….Look at you two" Hilda gushed. "Aren't you two like an old married couple?"

Betty lost it. The water escaped her mouth and sprayed across the table onto Hilda and Justin. As they both wiped off the water, Betty flushed with embarrassment.

"I'm sorry. I just…"

"It's okay. I guess that comment was kind of out of left field." Hilda continued to dry off.

"Oh…didn't seem so out there. In fact…." Claire began.

"I'll be right back." Betty shot up in her chair, knocking it to the ground. . "I…." She scurried out of the room like her dress was on fire.

The room fell silent. The sound of Betty's heel clicking her way up the stair was the only sound.

Daniel looked around at the awestruck group. Who seemed to be clueless about what had just happened? Even Daniel himself was a bit puzzled.

"I'll go check on her." Daniel got up, placing Betty's back up right again before starting after her. "Excuse me."

* * *

In the bathroom, Betty leaned against the counter. She needed to catch her breath….especially because she knew that she was going to go downstairs and she and Daniel needed to come out with fact that they were married.

_A fact that she did not regret, by any means. _

It was just unbelievable to think that this was all real. After all only a few months ago, she was dancing at Daniel's wedding to Molly. Now his ring rested on her finger and she was his wife…not Molly.

She heard a gentle knock on the door.

"Hilda…I'll be out in a second." Betty took a deep breath. "I'm fine."

"It's me." She heard Daniel's voice on the other side of the door.

"I'll be out in…a minute."

"Sweetie, let me in." He whispered against the door.

She knew that he wouldn't go away until he got inside with her. She unlocked the door and opened it a crack. Daniel slipped in.

"Are you okay, honey?"

"I just….I was so afraid that they were going to figure it out before we told them." She shrugged her shoulders, as she felt Daniel's hands moved to her waist.

He tugged her closer, as she lifted her head to look in his eyes. "I know…me too. How about we got back downstairs right now and just come out with it? I don't want us to have to hide it anymore."

He continued. "Anyway, we have a week long honeymoon waiting for us…and it would be easier to tell them we are married than to tell them that I'm taking you away on a business trip to a secluded sandy beach, where we are going to make love as much as possible."

She nodded and blushed. "I guess it would." Then, she bit her lip slightly as she watched Daniel's face come closer. He continued to pin her against his body and the counter. Finally, he brought his lips to hers, kissing her softly.

As she allowed him to deepen the kiss, she knew that this was the last thing that they needed to be doing….in her family's bathroom….with her family downstairs.

She pulled away as she felt the need for air. Daniel was taking her breath away, making her dizzy. If he wasn't holding her up, she was sure that she would be lying on the floor in a pile of goo.

She managed to collect herself and gather the words she wanted to say to him. "I love you." She said in a shaky and unsteady breath.

"I love you too." Daniel said before diving in once again, kissing her like he couldn't get enough of her. His lips trailed from her mouth down to her neck.

She giggled and he pulled away. "Daniel, we have to go downstairs. If I let you continue, we both know what's going to happen and I'm not having sex in here."

"But…"

She couldn't believe he was actually trying for that. It shouldn't surprise her though. She had a feeling that her life with Daniel was going to be anything but dull.

And that thrill her, unlike anything ever had.

She was just happy to see that he was present in this moment with her. With her…and that for the first time, she could begin to see their future together clearly.

"Okay. You are right." Daniel grinned, as he pushed back her dark hair. "We have the rest of our lives…and the sooner that we get this over with, the sooner I can get you back to our suite and begin our honeymoon."

* * *

As Daniel took her hand, they exited the bathroom and made their way into the hallway. Hilda stood at the end of the hallway.

"Daniel, your mom wanted me to let you know that she wanted to talk to you. She has to leave." Hilda moved towards him.

"Oh…Thanks." Daniel said awkwardly.

Hilda looked from Daniel to Betty…back to Daniel and then to Betty again.

"What were you two doing in there….together?" Hilda asked curiously, as she crossed her arms. "I think that the two of you have some explaining to do. I'm not stupid, ya know?"

Hilda's eyes were drawn to Betty's hand….to the rings on her hand to be exact.

"Uh…." Betty looked over at Daniel. "Hilda…I..uh."

Hilda came closer and quickly reached for Betty's hands, making Daniel drop her hand. "What is this? You guys are married? Aren't you?"

"Uh…" Betty still seemed to be speechless but managed to utter one simple word. "Yeah."

"Come with me, Betty. I want to talk to you NOW." Hilda pulled Betty away from Daniel and into her bedroom. "Are you out of your mind?"

Betty flung herself around and looked at Daniel as she went, helplessly. He knew that Betty could take care of herself and he knew what the expression on her face was telling him. He should go downstairs and see his mother off, while she talked to Hilda.

The bedroom door closed before he got a chance to get a word in. He was beginning to think they would have just been better off telling everyone the moment they sat down at the table.

They couldn't go back now though. Daniel started down stairs to see his mother standing near the door.

"You're leaving?"

"Yes. Actually, I was hoping that you would come with me."

"What's wrong?" Daniel asked her.

"I think it would be better if we talked about this outside." Claire lowered her voice as Ignacio and Justin came to say good bye. Once they were done, Daniel followed her outside.

"Okay...What's going on?"

"I've made an appointment for you," said Claire. "And I'm going to have to insist that you go."

"What? What kind of appointment?" Daniel narrowed his eyes. There was no way that he was going anywhere, except back to his hotel suite and make love to his new wife.

"A therapist."

"A therapist! I don't need a therapist."

"Betty told me that everything was okay but I'm still concerned about you."

"I'm fine. In fact, I've never been better." Daniel said happily.

"I know that you care about Betty deeply but Alexis and myself are both concerned about this relationship that you've gotten yourself into with Betty."

"I'm not. I love her." He didn't like where this conversation was going. "I've always loved her."

"I know that you have." Claire admitted. "That's the hardest part of this. I just don't want to see you hurt Betty. She's like a daughter to me. And while I want her to be part of this family, I just think that you need to take a step back and take your time to heal. Betty loves you. I promise she will be here when you are ready."

"I'm ready." He crossed his arms.

"You just lost your wife, Daniel. You can't just go rushing into a marriage to ease pain over losing Molly."

"That's not what's happening," said Daniel. " You know what this conversation is over." Daniel started to turn back inside.

"Betty is concerned about you too."

He turned around. "Why?"

"You should know that she called me and told that you were taking her to get married. She didn't have the heart to tell you no, Daniel. She didn't think you were quite ready."

Daniel's heart dropped. Betty had her doubts about marrying him. He felt like a thousand pound weight had just been dropped on his heart. He couldn't look his mother in the eye, as his mind flashed back to how nervous Betty had been before their ceremony. She kept looking at the clock and her phone…and making a million trips to the bathroom, probably to issue some kind of distress calls to anyone that would help her get out of this.

"She wanted me to show up and stop you because she didn't have the heart too," said Claire. "She was afraid of breaking your heart."

Now that they were married, everything had been so great though. Now that he thought about it. He probably did push a little too hard…but it was not to replace Molly with her. It was because he genuinely wanted to be married to Betty.

Daniel couldn't handle anymore. He had pushed Betty into something that she didn't want…and Daniel couldn't handle that.

"I have to go." Daniel started down the path and started walking down the sidewalk. He didn't even know where he was going. He just needed to think about what he was going to do next.

"Daniel…come back here." His mother called back.

He didn't listen though. He just kept going.

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	13. Chapter 13

**The Breaking Point**

Author's Notes: Thank you for the feedback and comments. I know that the last chapter was kind of crazy but we are heading for the last portion of the story. There will be a little bit of everything: a little conflict (not tons of angst), some sweet, some sexy, some funny. The only downside of this chapter is that there is not a lot of Daniel in this one…but have no fear, he will be in the next one.

* * *

**Chapter 12**

**Two Weeks Later**

Betty wondered if the feeling was ever going to go away. It was the empty feeling that Daniel had left when he walked away and disappeared without a word.

All Betty knew was that she was never going to forget that day. There was shadow that had been cast on what should have been the happiest day of her life. It was now tarnished.

It had started out happily but it didn't end that way. It ended with her crying all night in an empty honeymoon suite.

_Alone._

Betty couldn't help but blame herself for what happened though. She and Claire were both to blame. She thought Claire would have backed off when she told her that she had everything under control. However, Claire took it to mean that she and Daniel were delaying their nuptials, so that Daniel could recover from losing Molly.

Not that she and Daniel had actually been married and for the first time in weeks, she could see the light in his eyes again.

Their misunderstanding and miscommunication looked to have cost Betty everything. She just wished that she would have been able to find Daniel and talk this out. Instead, he was gone and had been missing for two weeks. No one had seen or heard from him since he walked away that day in Queens. He hadn't even touch his accounts, except for a cash withdraw on the day of their wedding.

When she had returned to the hotel that day, the clerk said that he had paid their bill and gave instruction that she be allowed to stay until the next day, when she was scheduled to leave on a flight to Tahiti. Two first class tickets were all he left her in an envelope at the front desk….without even a note.

After sending a week with Hilda in Tahiti on what she have been her and Daniel's honeymoon, she knew that she needed that she needed start getting her life back. She had spent too long sulking over the whole situation because it wasn't going to bring Daniel back. He would come back when he was ready and then they would deal with whatever happened next.

It had been a week since she returned to MODE and her new job as junior features editor. It was strange to be here without Daniel. In fact with every day, she questioned why she bothered to come back here, except that it was the closest thing she had to him and she wasn't ready to let him go or give up on him, even though, she was so angry at him right now.

Then one day on the way back from the copy room, she found herself standing in the doorway of Daniel's deserted office. Her hand on her chest, where underneath her dress, her rings were strung on a necklace, where they could stay close to her heart and also until she was able to find out whether Daniel still even wanted to be married to her or not.

"Betty…" An arm wove up and down in front of her eyes.

"What…" She shook her head. She had obviously been daydreaming. She looked over at Matt, who was standing beside her.

"You are going to be late for the meeting." Matt reached for her arm.

She pulled away and dropped her arm. "Why should you care, Matt? I thought you were supposed to hate me or something. You have been horrible to me ever since I got back."

"I haven't been that bad. Come on, Betty. Can you blame me?" Matt said with a hint of harshness.

"Matt, you made me sit in a bright green bean bag chair the first day back and I know that you had something to do with Amanda sealing my drawers closed."

"Actually, that was Marc." Matt chuckled.

Betty laughed. "Okay…I guess I should have guessed that. He kind of does hate me because of the whole promotion thing…and it probably doesn't help that I haven't been here for weeks and I just waltz back in like it's no big deal."

"He'll get over it. The graffiti about you in the men's room is way down."

"Well, that's good" Betty sighed. She looked back into Daniel's office. She blinked fast and for a moment she almost thought that she could see Daniel sitting there behind his desk, looking handsome in one of his many designer suits.

She turned back to Matt. "I guess we better get to that meeting."

"Actually, Betty….I wanted to talk to you." Matt said hesitantly. "I know this is weird but there is something that I need to talk to you about. It's about us…and about everything that happened."

"Matt, please don't take this the wrong way but that's the past. I've moved on and I think you should too. I never meant to hurt you. I hope you know that," said Betty sincerely. "That was almost two months ago now…and a lot has happened since then and I…"

"Betty, I just want to talk. That's all." She moved away but he caught her arm again. "Have dinner with me tonight? I promise I just want to talk…nothing else."

"I'll think about it." Betty didn't want to lead Matt on but the idea of a night out was better than the pity party that Hilda had been helping her throw every night since Daniel left.

"So…what's up with Daniel?" Matt asked her.

"How should I know?" Betty pulled her eyes away. Her hand went to her chest, over the rings. "I'm not his baby sitter anymore."

"No…but I thought you two were pretty tight. It seemed that one of you didn't do anything without the other," said Matt.

"I haven't heard from him." Betty's eyes were drawn back towards Daniel's office.

"I do know that whole appendix thing was so false. I heard Claire tell my father that Daniel needed some time alone. I just figured you would know something about what was really going on."

"Nope." Betty was so tired of people asking question about Daniel. She was tired of the rumors that were swirling around. Everything from the rumor that he was held up in a mountain cabin and had turned to life as a hermit…to the one where he ran off to Vegas and married a stripper named Kandy Kane.

That last one was so false. If nothing, Betty was grateful that she and Daniel were married…even though, they weren't together because that meant that he couldn't marry anyone else, while he was in a drunken state.

In fact, the only people that knew about her and Daniel's marital status were her, Daniel and Hilda. She hadn't even told Claire and for now that was the way that Betty wanted to keep it.

It was less complicated that way. She and Daniel needed to work out their problems before they dragged anyone else into them. Betty had learned that the hard way when she got his mother involved.

"I just hope he comes home soon," said Betty. "I miss him."

"Come on, Betty. Have dinner with me tonight. It will take your mind off of Daniel."

"Matt, I don't think it's a good idea."

"I'm not going to take no for an answer. I told you there is something that I need to talk to you about," said Matt insistently.

* * *

With a beard and dark glasses, Daniel emerged from his cheap hotel room in Queens, where he had been hiding out for the past few weeks. He paid with cash. He didn't use his cell phone. If there was any way to trace his whereabouts, he avoided it.

He needed to be alone to have time to reflect on what he had done to Betty and how he felt about her…how he felt about Molly…and how he wanted to live his life from now on.

During those two weeks, his mind wavered back and forth between whether he should file for divorce or not…or whether he should show back up and ask for her forgiven for walking away from her.

As long as he had known Betty, she had always managed to forgive him for doing some very stupid things. But would she forgive this? With some heartfelt effort, he hoped that she would.

After all, he had forgiven her for conspiring with his mother to halt their wedding and get his professional grief counseling. He forgave her for that about three hours after he checked out of their honeymoon suite and checked into this dingy hotel room, a few blocks from the Suarez house. A location that he chose mostly because it was close to Betty….and to be any further away from her, made his ache.

It was that ache that kept him from calling the Meade lawyers and having divorce papers drawn up, at least for now. He wouldn't do that until he was able to ask Betty, point blank if that was what she wanted.

He, however, was not going down without a fight. After two weeks, he emerged from his hotel room and was on a mission to get his life back and to get his wife back.

She was his happiness…his ray of sunshine in his darkest days. It was time that he showed her that his marriage to her had nothing to do with Molly and everything to do with what she had come to mean to him and the future that he wanted with her.

He walked into the flower shop down the block from the hotel. With $30 in his pocket and some hope, he was going to being the process of wooing his wife back.

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	14. Chapter 14

**The Breaking Point**

_Author's Note: Thank you for the comments and feedback. Please keep them coming._

**Chapter 14**

* * *

The following day, Betty made her way through the tube on her way back from meeting Hilda and Justin for lunch. Justin was so excited to tell Betty about his latest auditions for the school musical. It was just another distraction that Hilda seemed to be giving Betty lately. It was also an excuse for Hilda to pry and ask a million questions about why Betty would even think about going to dinner with Matt Hartley, given her currently unresolved situation with Daniel.

Betty couldn't give her an answer, mostly because she didn't have one. The only thing she really knew was that it felt good to get out and feel like she was living again because there was a part of her that could only describe the events of the past two months as nothing but surreal.

A dream. A nightmare. Something in-between.

Perhaps just having dinner with Matt was a reminder of what life had been like before the night of Molly's death, when everything change for both her and for Daniel.

It was a different life for both. Daniel's life was as a loving husband to Molly. Her life was her career and dating Matt.

That night changed everything. Molly died and she and Matt broke up. Those things were the past though. She had gone to dinner though, even though, she felt that Matt wanted more than what she could give him. She was filled with guilt. Even though, the dinner was totally innocent…and absolutely nothing happened….repeat, nothing happened.

Despite her and Daniel's undetermined future marital status, nothing was going to happen with Matt as long as she was married to Daniel. She would remain faithful until she knew what was going to happen.

Still, the truth was that she wanted nothing more than to strangle him for not calling and making her worry, she loved him. Though, there were moments that made her wonder if he simply realized that maybe he wasn't in love with her and the real reason why he walked away.

Maybe, he just was in love with the idea of being in love…and she was just there in the right place at the right time. Images of him with some cheap blonde were burned in her mind. Perhaps, the rumors were true…or partly true. She feared. He was off having some adulterous affair and hanging around bars and nightclubs.

The thought made her nauseous and made her heart pound uncontrollably, as she stopped near the reception desk.

"What is with you?" Amanda stared at her with wide eyes.

"Huh…" Betty held onto the edge of the desk, trying to collect herself.

"You have been acting super weird since you came back from that Fat Farm?"

"What? Fat Farm? I wasn't…" Betty stopped.

"Betty's cranky…." Amanda reached down and opened her drawer. She pulled out a bag of cookies. "Here you go…I won't tell. It'll be our little secret."

"Amanda, I was not at a Fat Farm. I was….nevermind." Betty knew that it wouldn't help to even try to explain. "Can I just have my messages?"

"There was only one call for you but he hung up….kind of weird… I guess nobody loves Betty anymore…Well, except for Matt." Amanda said in a snarky tone.

"Matt?" Betty shook his head.

"Well, I heard that you were all over each other at Frankie's," said Amanda inquisitively.

"No…" Betty said adamantly. "That's the past."

Though, Matt had hinted at such during dinner that he wanted more but she turned him down flat. Betty was not going to share that information with Amanda. It was none of her business.

"Like I believe that, I know that he has been waiting for weeks to come back so that he could fix things. You are all he talks about all day long. Personally, I'm sick of hearing about it."

"What…?" Betty asked. She was confused. She almost sensed that Amanda was happy that Betty didn't seem to have any interesting in Matt. "Matt and I are friends."

"With benefits…."

"Amanda, I don't want to talk about this. I have work to do."

"Oh…well. I don't believe it. Anyway, these flowers were just delivered for you." Amanda moved the arrangement from her desktop to the top of the counter. "Looks like he's turning on the charm….honestly, he should have just got you a dozen donuts instead because even I know that's the way to your heart."

There was a simple arrangement of pink and white Gerber daisies. Betty's heart stopped as looked on the lovely bouquet, which reminded her of the same flowers that Daniel gave her on their wedding day.

"Please tell me there was a card." Betty began to frantically search the arrangement.

"Oh…yeah." Amanda reached the small card that was opened on lying on her desk. "It's blank though. I guess his love couldn't even be put into words."

Betty reached for the card and there was nothing there.

Marc appeared at the desk. "I see that you are just standing around again, Suarez…not doing work. I can tell you that if I was editor…."

"Shut up." Betty snapped.

"Moody…but I'm just trying to make a point. If you are just going to stand around all day and try to blend in , I can assure you that won't happen in that hideous ensemble?"

"I got this in Paris, Marc." Betty picked up the arrangement and hissed. "And it cost more than your entire tacky wardrobe."

As Betty made her way back toward her office, she heard Marc gasp. "Did she just said that she bought something in Paris?"

* * *

As the elevators doors parted, Daniel stepped off the elevators onto the MODE floor. He was ready to be back here and get on with his life.

"Daniel…." Amanda jumped out of her seat. "You're back."

He just kept walking as Amanda quickly fell into step behind him. He didn't have time to stop. He needed to see Betty. That was this first thing on his list, not chat with Amanda.

"Where have you been?" Amanda walked beside him.

"It's a long story…" He stopped for a minute. "Do you know where Betty is? I need to see her."

"She's in meeting with Matt…her lover."

"Her what?" Daniel said.

"They were all over each other at dinner last night. She is so denying it but it looks like Matt and Betty are going to work things out."

"I…where is she?" Daniel tried to calm himself and not jump to conclusions.

"His office….or the copy room." Amanda said suggestively.

Daniel felt pulse pound as he started towards Matt's office. There was no way. Amanda couldn't be telling the truth. It had been only two weeks since he left to find the answers that he was seeking. The answers he found only lead him back to the one woman that he wanted more than any other.

He rounded the corner and could see Matt's office in his sights. Amanda had given up with keeping up the pace with him, when she ran off probably in search of Marc to spread the word that he was back.

Matt was leaning over Betty's shoulder, as she sat at his desk. He was way too close for Daniel's comfort. It seemed that everything was running in slow motion as he got closer and closer. Matt looked like a predator that was about to attack his prey. He knew that look. Matt was about to kiss his wife…and there was no way he was going to let that happen.

"Stop…" Daniel stood in the doorway. His heart pounded wildly.

Matt stopped short of placing his lips on Betty's. Betty shot up out of her chair and practically knocked Matt to the floor. "Daniel…"

A smile came to her face as she moved around the desk and towards him. Daniel felt a little surge of relief that he didn't see any anger in her eyes.

"You're back." Betty grabbed him with both arms, hugging him tightly. He wrapped his arms around Betty's waist. His eyes shot back towards Matt who seemed to be trying to figure out exactly what had happened. Matt Hartley didn't matter right now. Daniel would deal with him later. The only thing that matter was that he had Betty in his arms again. "I'm so glad that you are okay."

"I didn't mean to worry you." He whispered in her ear. He wanted so much to kiss her right here.

She pulled away slowly. Then, he saw a flicker in her eyes, as she drew her hand back and slapped him across the cheek.

"Betty…God, that hurt."

"I'm glad…."

He held his cheek. This little woman sure knew how to pack a powerful punch. "Betty.."

"Don't Betty me, Daniel. I can't talk to you right now." Betty stormed off towards her office.

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	15. Chapter 15

**The Breaking Point**

_Author's Note: Thank you for your feedback and comments. I appreciate it._

_Disclaimer: Nope…still don't owe it._

* * *

**Chapter 15**

Daniel took one look at Matt and tried to control his temper. The last thing he needed to do was attack Matt Hartley for trying to hit on Betty. That would only drive Betty away.

"Stay away from her." He said simply and calmly.

Then Daniel turned and started towards Betty's office. As he went, he had to admit that he deserved more than a slap on the cheek from her. He deserved for her to turn away from him and walk away.

But he wasn't going to let her do that. They had both made mistakes here but that didn't change that fact somewhere in the mess of their own making, there was love buried beneath the rumble of their relationship.

He opened the door to Betty's office and saw her sitting there behind her desk, the flowers he had gotten her on the corner. Daniel felt a surge of hope that she didn't throw them away but he also felt a bit disappointed that she continued to ignore his presence in the room, while her office mate, Meegan seemed to sense that the tension in the suddenly multiplied a thousand times in the matter of those few seconds.

"Meegan, can I speak to Betty for a moment…alone?" Daniel asked politely.

"Sure…" Meegan began to rise from her chair.

"Stay…" Betty shot back and Meegan sat back down giving Betty a curious glance.

"Betty…we need to talk." He looked back at Meegan. "Could you go, please?"

Meegan started to get up again. This time, she grabbed her bag. "Yes, Mr. Meade. I think I'll take a late lunch."

"Thank you." Daniel nodded, as he opened the door for her.

"Welcome back, Mr. Meade."

"Thanks. It's good to be back." Daniel smiled graciously. He closed the door, as Meegan left.

He turned back to see that Betty was still typing away like a mad woman, as he moved back towards her. He began up a chair because he knew that this conversation was going to take some time and get pretty intense but Betty shot up out of her chair and walked out of the room.

She was not going to make this easy for him. He put the chair back and went after her. If she thought he was just going to give up, she was sadly mistaken.

* * *

Betty walked as fast as her little legs would carry her. She just needed to make it to the elevators before Daniel. Then she could get on the elevator and get off on any floor and he wouldn't be able to find her until she was ready to be found.

As much as she wanted to talk to him, she just couldn't do it right now. If she talked to him now, she would just make things worse. And that was the last thing she wanted to do.

She was also running from the fact that she was afraid he was going to tell her that he didn't want to be married to her anymore and that it had been a mistake.

"Why the hurry, Betty? Are they giving away free tacos at the cart downstairs?" Marc called out as she began to move past him. She needed to rest for a moment.

"If Daniel is looking…"

"Betty…stop." Daniel called out through the tube. People were beginning to stop and stare.

"Gotta go…" Betty took off, leaving a stunned Marc in her dust. She could see the elevators in sight.

Finally, she got to the elevator. She frantically pressed the button but she should have figured that Daniel's legs were longer than hers, making it easy for him to catch her. As the doors opened, she felt the warmth of his hand on her bare arm, causing her to break out in chills.

"We are going somewhere private to talk." He leaned in a whispered gently against her ear.

"I know." She said softly, lowering her head. The elevator doors opened and she stepped forward and he followed her.

Once on the elevator, they stood there side by side, in silence. Neither of them seemed be saying anything, though they both knew there was a lot to be said.

"This isn't the time or the place."

"You are my wife, Betty."

"No one knows that and I don't feel like announcing to the world that we got married….by having you chasing me through the halls of MODE," said Betty. "Like a lost little puppy dog."

"Well, I wouldn't have had to chase you, if you would just stay in one place for more than a second. I think we need to talk about what we are going to do now."

"I'm not ready to talk yet," said Betty. "I need some time."

"I want to talk now." Daniel turned towards her and then reached over and pressed the elevator stop button.

"You should have thought about that when you decided to walk away without saying anything to me. You have no idea how much I've worried about you," said Betty. "How much we've all been worried about you?"

"Betty, I spent the whole two weeks thinking about everything, especially about us."

_Us._

That single word set the butterflies in her stomach aflutter. It made her ache. There were no words that could possible describe how much she wanted to throw her arms around him and tell him that everything was going to be okay, she couldn't do it. It would only lead to one or both of them getting hurt.

And they both had been hurt enough. What if the attempt to fix this, just lead to more pain for both of them?

"I'm sorry. I just needed some time to clear my mind. I wish that I could go back and do it differently but I had to do it. You knew that even before I did…otherwise, you and my mother wouldn't have conspired to get me help."

"Then you should have told me that. You could always talk to me before," said Betty. "I would have supported you, Daniel."

He moved toward her and reached for her. "I know. I want to make this right."

"I was just your replacement for Molly." She allowed the words to slip from her lips

"Betty, how could you think that? We've been over this," said Daniel. "I love you too."

"Daniel, I can't do this…not right now." Betty said softly. She was fighting the urge to cry and let him see how much he hurt her and how much she regretted anything she did to hurt him.

"Just tell me when then." He moved towards her.

She gazed into his eyes. "Daniel, I have to get back to work. We have a lot of work to do for the Bahamas trip."

"Betty, please just tell me how much space you need. I'll give it to you. Just don't leave me hanging here."

"I need a few days…I guess."

"How about we talk about it over lunch later this week?" Daniel's eyes met hers. The tone of his voice made her weak.

"I'm busy."

"All week? How about Thursday?"

"Doctor's appointment."

"Oh…are you okay?" His arm reached for her shoulder.

"Yeah! I'm fine." She pulled away and hit the button to restart the elevator. She gazed up at the number as the elevator started to rise again. "I'm fine."

"How about Friday then?"

"I can't. I'm leaving with Matt to go to the shoot in the Bahamas early that morning." Betty informed him.

"Oh…I see." He pulled away.

"What do you think you see?" Betty asked curiously.

"You are sleeping with Matt. Aren't you?" He didn't say it harshly. It was more like the sound of his heart breaking.

"Daniel…" Betty felt the urge to explain that she had no interest in Matt. Suddenly, Betty realized that their talk couldn't wait. But before she could tell him, he cut her off."

"No, Betty. You don't have to explain," said Daniel. "It's okay." He reached for face, holding it in his hands.

"But…Daniel." She looked up at him and looked him directly in the eyes.

"Listen. I'm the one that left you. I guess I am the fool here. I'm the fool to think that you would wait for me," said Daniel. "I guess I'm going to have to let you go but not before…"

He stopped and just gazed into her eyes. He didn't say anything but she could have sworn that she could feel the sound of both their heart beats in unison.

"Daniel…" Before she could say anything, he moved in and kissed her, holding on firmly around waist, pulling her tight against him.

The elevator doors opened onto the 28th floor. Betty pulled away from the kiss. She felt incapable of any cohesive thought at this very moment.

Daniel reached down and took her hand, leading her off the elevator. Once outside, he stopped. "I'll have the lawyers draw up the paperwork. I'll make sure they rush it so that you can sign it before you leave on Friday."

Before Betty could protest, Daniel was gone. He headed down the hall towards his office.

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	16. Chapter 16

**The Breaking Point**

_Author's Notes: Thank you for the feedback and comments. I appreicate it._

* * *

**Chapter 16**

Daniel stared across the round conference room table at Betty. He knew he should be listening to what Wilhelmina was saying but he was focused on her, sitting across the room from him. He surely didn't like the way that Matt was still trying his best to challenge Daniel's orders to stay away from Betty, by brushing Betty's arm, every chance he got.

Of course, it gave Daniel a little satisfaction to see that Betty was scooting away each time he did it. Daniel chuckled quietly to himself.

Just because Matt was a Hartley and his father had helped pull MODE out of the red, did not mean he could have Betty. She was still his wife, until the divorce was final.

Uh….The divorce. That was another matter too. It had only been a few hours since he told Betty that he would take care of…._THAT_. Now he wasn't sure that he was going to be able to go through with it.

As he was walking away from her earlier, he had turned around for a moment, only to see her bolt for the ladies room, on the verge of tears. He went back only to have his suspicions confirmed when he ended the restroom and heard her sobbing uncontrollably.

It was then that he knew that those were not tears of relief. They were tears of sorrow and he wanted so badly to just flip open that stall door and gather her in his arms….but he didn't.

_But…only because a few women walked in and wondered why he was in the ladies room. Otherwise, he would have done it. _

Now, he knew that a divorce wouldn't be right. For several reasons, he realized that Betty never actually said she wanted one. And another reason was that it felt wrong to just give up on what they had between them, even though things hadn't exactly been like a fairy tale.

Marriage wasn't supposed to be easy and the fact was that he knew he loved Betty and that she did love him. He couldn't just give up.

"Earth to Daniel…."

Daniel was pulled unwillingly from his daze. "Uh…yeah." He glanced down pretending to look at the papers in front of him. The name Betty Suarez glared out from page.

"Still on your vacation in La-La Land, I see." Wilhelmina snapped. "I was asking if there was anything else before we try to end this meeting."

"No…I'm here and yes, I was just looking over this list of people for the Bahamas. Do we really need this many people the shoot?" Daniel's eyes darted across the room at Matt and Betty. "I mean I thought we were trying to keep within a budget."

Wilhelmina reached for a copy of the list and takes a glimpse. "For once, I am going to have to agree with Daniel."

"So…who are we supposed to cut?" Matt barked back. "Everyone on that list is essential to the shoot." Matt shot Daniel a challenging glimpse.

Daniel raised an eye brow. "Well, for one…Betty isn't essential to the shoot." There was no way in hell that Daniel was going to let Matt take Betty to the Bahamas, where he could try to put the moves on her, while Daniel was stuck here in New York under a pile of work from his long absence.

He was determined now. If he wanted to save them from a divorce, he was going to have to show Betty that being married to her was what he truly wanted. His eyes met Betty's. She was biting her bottom lip, something that drove Daniel wild. He needed to get her alone.

_His office….too predictable. The copy room…maybe. _

"There are 40 people on this list. The Meade plane will only fit half of this….not to mention all the equipment and wardrobe that has to go," said Daniel. "I want this list cut."

"We'll just get another plane…My father…"

"Essential personnel only. Betty isn't essential…." Daniel glanced down at the list, not wanting it to seem that this was all about Betty. "There are also some interns on here that shouldn't be. Interns are not essential to the shoot."

"Betty…."

Daniel rose from the table. "This meeting is over. Betty isn't going to the Bahamas…just cut the damn list, Matt." He left the room, as the meeting broke up.

"Mmmm…Daniel's back." Amanda purred.

"Looks like he got some balls too," said Marc. "He must have borrowed them from Betty."

* * *

Betty was still in shock. Now, she was not only removed from the list to go to the Bahamas. She was stuck with Meegan's work. Now that she had been chosen as essential to the shoot. So…to avoid working the weekend, she was working late, trying to get as much done as possible.

The only problem was that it wasn't working. The only thing she could think about as she shoved a chopstick full of noodles into her mouth was Daniel, the darn divorce and the mess that they were in.

Instead of working on her article, she was reading browsing the internet for the information that she needed desperately find, as she flipped website after website to find something that would make her feel better.

Something that would put her mind at ease.

"I see you are deep in thought there." A voice whispered in her ear. She almost jumped out of her chair.

"Daniel…" Her heart beat spiked and beat wildly.

"What ya reading there?" Daniel leaned further over her shoulder. "Birth control pill recall."

She stood up. "Just some research for this feature on birth control…and how inefficient it can be…sometimes."

"Wow…They recalled a million packs of pills."

"Yeah…" She reached for the monitor and flipped it off. "A lot of unplanned pregnancies." She started cleaning up her desk. "It sucks."

"I see you already ate. I was going to ask you if you wanted to go get some dinner," said Daniel gently. His tone and gaze made her want to forget how upset she had been with him this afternoon. "Perhaps, we could go get some ice cream or something."

She tossed the almost empty container in the garbage. "Daniel…why?"

"I want to buy my wife some ice cream. Is that a crime?" Daniel asked. He closed the distance between them.

"No…I guess not." She sighed as he reached for her hand. She felt defeated. She wanted him so badly. She wanted everything to be normal, not that anything had been normal since they had tied the knot.

"I want to talk to you about the divorce." Daniel said bluntly.

Her stomach dropped. "Oh…." She tried to hide the disappointment in her voice. "Is that all?

He seemed to hesitate for a moment, unsure of what to say next. "Actually, no. There's more."

"Daniel, it's late and I'm really exhausted. Can we talk about this later? I just want to go home."

"Okay…but let me take you, please?" Daniel asked calmly. Betty nodded as she continued to put her things away. She turned off her computer and reached for her briefcase, which Daniel took from her.

As they walked through the tube, Daniel reached for her hand, taking it in his surprisingly. Betty looked over at him and he smiled at her. It made her stomach flutter and heart ache just a bit.

"So…am I still gonna get that ice cream that you offered?" Betty asked timidly.

"I thought you were tired." He chuckled. She stopped at the end of the tube and swung their hands back and forth, playfully. She began to lower her guard a bit to see what might happen.

"Well, I think I could use some. Anyway, I think you are right. We do need to talk about a lot of things," said Betty. "Because….Daniel, I don't want a divorce."

"You don't." Daniel said happily. "Oh…Thank god." He reached for her, dropping her briefcase to the floor.

. "I never slept with…."

"I know you didn't. You don't have to explain. I know that you would never…God, Betty. I love you so much." Daniel reached for her face, taking in with both hand. His lips were hot on hers; right there in the middle of the MODE offices, as he hold her in his arms and kiss her.

"Daniel…"She broke away and caught her breath. "We can't do this here. I think I need to go home." She whispered so close to his lips that she could feel his breath.

"You still want to go home. I thought that…"

She felt the need to clarify. He obviously thought she meant that she wanted to go home to Queens. "No…No…I want to go to our home." She reached for his hand and threaded their fingers. Then, it occurred to her that they really didn't have a home to go to. She didn't have a place to live and Daniel's loft had sold weeks early, just before he had left for Tibet.

"What's wrong?"

"I just realized we don't really have a home. Everything has been so chaotic."

"My home is where you are, Betty." Daniel grinned, as he petted her hair.

"That's sweet." She could feel the warmth rush to her cheeks.

"Well, I think I can figure something out for tonight. After all, I think it would be kind of awkward for you to take me home with you and explaining to your father that instead of a puppy….you brought home your husband and you wanted to let him cuddle under the covers with you."

Betty giggled, as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Well, I had more in mind than just cuddling….after we talk."

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	17. Chapter 17

**The Breaking Point**

_Author's Note: Thank you for the feedback and comments. You have no idea how much I appreciate them. _

**Chapter 17**

* * *

As Betty sat at the table, she glanced over at Daniel, who was at the counter placing their order. While he waited, he kept glancing back at her and grinning like a love sick school boy. Each time, she swore that it cause her heart to skip a beat.

Since she came right out and bluntly told Daniel that she didn't want a divorce, she felt this huge weight lift off her and she was moved forward to whatever lied ahead. As soon as they slipped into the back of a cab, Betty had expected Daniel to order the driver to take them to the a five star hotel, where they would order room service and talk….and followed by a night-long "cuddle" session.

No…there would more than just cuddling before the night was out and Betty couldn't wait to be back in Daniel's arms again.

When the cab dropped them off in Queens at a burger place only a few blocks from her family's home, Betty was surprised by his choice…but the truth was she didn't really care where they were as long as they were together.

While she waited for Daniel, she reached into her bag and pulled out her phone. She knew that Hilda was out with Archie tonight but she also knew that she needed Hilda's help. She needed her to cover for her with their father….because she was spending the night with Daniel.

As she pressed send, Betty had to admit that she shouldn't need anyone to cover for her. After all, she was spending the night with her husband…and not having some one night stand with some stranger and it wasn't like they were doing anything wrong.

Oh…but they were. They were the only ones (beside Hilda) that knew about her and Daniel's marital status. But for tonight, Betty didn't want to get bogged down in those complications or the other challenges that might lie in their way. She wanted tonight to be just about them.

As her phone pinged back with her sister's reply, she received a stern reminder from Hilda about what Daniel had done and how he just walked away from her…on their wedding day. Betty didn't reply back. She just slipped the phone back in her purse. She just wanted to be happy…and looking at her husband right now….out of place in his designer blue suit in this hole in the wall burger joint. She was just that. She was happy.

She wanted just a little bit of time where it was just them…and there were no issues hovering over them and the comments that were likely to follow the announcement of their nuptials.

When she smiled when she saw Daniel come back toward them with their order, her stomach growled a bit. As he approached, he expected her to slip into the seat across from her but he didn't. He moved in beside her and promptly planned a kiss on her lips.

"Mmm…Love you." Daniel pulled from her lips, but not her face.

"Love you too." Betty beamed, as she felt warmth rush over her. He reached for her hand and entwined their fingers.

He pulled her left hand up when his hand brushed her fingers. "Where are your rings? You took them off. "

"Well…not exactly." With her other hand, she pulled her necklace out from her blouse and pulled the sparkling diamond ring and gold band into view. The rings were secured by a gold necklace. "I couldn't exactly wear them at MODE…because they would have attracted attention and you know how Amanda is about jewelry. She would probably spot your mother's engagement ring a mile away.

Daniel chuckled. "It's okay. That was probably a good idea….but I do love that you didn't keep them far from you."

"Yeah…" She reached back down for his hand and sighed. "I'm surprise that you wanted to come here. This isn't exactly….your neighborhood,"

She couldn't believe Daniel had brought her all the way to Queens to get burgers and fries….oh. Her eyes caught the fries on the tray. .

Now she knew why….this place had the best food but how did Daniel know about this place? As far as she had known, Daniel had never stepped foot in Queens before he met her.

"This place is great. I've….uh…been here a few times. Anyway, I figured that we needed a place to talk, if I take you to the hotel, we both know what will happen…." He smirked. "And we both know talking isn't it."

"No. I guess that makes sense. " She knew that Daniel was right. It shocked her how she went so many years and had never felt a twinge of attraction towards him. Now it was a different story though.

_Very different._

"Here's your hot fudge sundae." He placed it in front of her. "With extra cherries."

"Oh…fries." Her eyes popped out.

"Hey…I thought you didn't want any." He playfully pulled the basket away from her.

"I didn't either…until I saw them," said Betty.

"Help yourself," Daniel chuckled, as he pushed the basket of fries towards her. She plucked a warm fry from the heaping pile.

"Thank you." She stuck the fry in her mouth. He reached over for her hand, underneath the table, grinning at her. "Are you going to eat your burger?"

"I was planning on it." Daniel chuckled playfully. "I'll go order you one with fries. You told me you weren't hungry because you were full from earlier."

"No…I just wanted a fry and my sundae," said Betty. "You know better than anyone that I turn to potatoes in times of need."

"And I guess the past couple weeks, you've had a lot to deal with." Daniel pulled his hand away, so he could eat before his food got cold.

Betty plucked one of the cherries off the top of her sundae, as she contemplated whether she should tell him how she had been feeling. She realized that it was better to just be honest about that. After all, being honest about her intention to continue their marriage had worked so well. Why hold back now?

The time for holding back emotions was gone anyway. They needed to be open with each other, if they wanted to make this marriage work. She could no longer worry about how it was going to affect Daniel because the truth was…holding back things from him only let to her own suffering.

Maybe, if she had been honest with him, he wouldn't have walked away from her. The truth….it would only better to just get it out there and then they could just deal with it.

_Together. _

It was what they were always good at, working together as a team.

"Yeah. It has." She took a deep breath and popped the cherry into her mouth. "So…if you hear about a potato shortage. It's your fault."

"Ha…yeah, probably. Being married to me, I should probably have bought you your own potato farm as a wedding gift." Daniel chuckled, as he placed his burger back down.

"Not a bad idea." She giggled playfully. She wanted to try to lighten the sudden dampened mood.

"For what it's worth, I am really sorry that I did that but Betty…I really do think time apart was for the best," said Daniel. "There were some things that I needed to work through. "

He added. "I do owe you one hell of a honeymoon though. I do know that you went on ours with Hilda."

"We told Dad that it was a work thing. I had fun with Hilda..…." She sighed and stopped her self from going on about having a great time. She had been miserable the whole trip. What was the point in lying about it?

She continued. "I was miserable without you. Hilda did her best to keep me entertained but…all I could think about was you. I was so worried about you too. Why didn't you call me? Text me? Email me? Just to tell me that you were okay."

"I needed to time to think…about my life…_you_…_us_…even Molly. I had to figure out how it all fit together. I figured out a lot of things in those two weeks," said Daniel.

She dug the spoon through the whipped cream and ice cream. "Like?" She asked curiously.

"That no matter how I looked at things, the one thing that I kept coming back to was you," said Daniel. "Betty, it's always been you….even before…" Daniel bowed his head a bit. She could sense his sadness.

"Before Molly."

Daniel nodded. "Yes. I just want to be with you."

"What if Molly had lived? You can't say that you would still feel this way?"

"I would still love you. I know that…but we can play what if, all day long. It will just drive us crazy," said Daniel. "Believe me I know….all about crazy. I mean I dragged you into this marriage."

"You aren't crazy." Her heart dropped a little. "And Daniel, I wanted to marry you. I never said I didn't. I just wanted to delay things a bit…until I knew that you were…." She couldn't manage to continue and she stared the melting ice cream the dribbled down the side of the glass.

"Mentally stable?"

Betty didn't know how to answer that. The last thing that Betty ever wanted was for him to think that.

"Betty, it's okay. I started seeing a therapist."

"You have?" Betty finally looked at him.

"Yes. I have. And I have to admit that I am crazy." Daniel admitted.

"No…" She reached for him…for his hand.

"I'm crazy for walking away from you and our marriage," said Daniel. "That's my biggest regret."

Betty knew the question that she wanted ask and again reminded herself that there was no holding back. She was curious. She had to know. "Then why were you going to let me divorce you?"

"I wanted you to be happy….but I gotta be honest. It killed me to see Matt drooling all over you," said Daniel. "I wanted to punch the guy so bad but I knew that you could take care of yourself."

He added. "I did tell him to stay away from you. I see that he didn't take my warning seriously."

"So…you were jealous," said Betty.

"Yes…I don't like other men looking at you, especially not the way that he was looking at you."

"I'm not interested in him." Betty reiterated, as she tried to dig through the ice cream to the hot fudge at the bottom. "That is the past. I don't hate Matt. It just didn't work out."

"I know. I was just being stupid to thing that only after two weeks you would move on," said Daniel. "That's not how you work."

"No, it's not." Betty said calmly. "And Daniel, even though I didn't know where you were, I still was holding on the hope that you would come back." She felt her stomach tie in knots a bit as she knew what other piece of information that she needed to tell him.

"Betty!"

Betty looked up to see Hilda sliding into the booth across from her, followed by Archie.

"Hilda, what are you doing here?"

"You told me in your text so we figured that we would come and join you, since we were just going out," said Hilda. "I hope you don't mind. I love this place. Oh…Archie, could you get me one of those burgers and some fries?"

"Sure…I'll be right back." Archie got up and left the table.

Once he had left, Hilda looked at Daniel. "Okay…I only have a second because I don't want Archie to know about this shame of a marriage."

"Hilda!" Betty snapped back. "It's not …"

Daniel said defensively. "I love Betty."

"I'm not going to let you hurt her again," said Hilda.

"Hilda, I don't intend to hurt her," said Daniel sharply. "I did what I had to do for our future…"

"You could have left a note or something….gee." Hilda bit back and crossed her note. "Instead, you went off to who knows where and did who knows what with who knows who."

"Stop it..." Betty just wanted to cover her ears. The last thing she needed was wanted to do was here two of the people that she loved most in the world, fight. She knew that she had every right to yell at Daniel for leaving her. She had forgiven him though. She also wanted to yell at Hilda for butting into her life…but she couldn't do that because Hilda had been there to help her get through Daniel's disappearance and knew how much it had hurt her.

Daniel was back now…and they were going to find a way through this. Hilda needed to let her handle this.

As she continued to hear Daniel and Hilda spar back and forth, Betty knew that she had to stop this before things got uglier than they already were and someone said something that they regretted.

"I might be pregnant." She said loudly. Those four words seemed to draw the looks of Daniel, Hilda and even Archie…who had been returning to the table. The only sound was that of her pounding heart.

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	18. Chapter 18

**The Breaking Point**

_Author's Note: Thank you for the comments and feedback. I really do appreicate them. (I've been writing this chapter when I should be doing homework...I guess I should go do that now...huh! LOL)_

**Chapter 18**

* * *

Daniel was outside waiting for Betty to emerge from the ladies room. After her admission of her suspected pregnancy, things happened so quick that it caused Daniel's head to spin. First, she practically shoved him out of the booth, telling him and Hilda not to follow her.

Now, they were all waiting here. He was standing alone. Hilda was with Archie a few feet away. Neither of their spoke to each other until Hilda finally approached Daniel.

"Listen…" Hilda started to speak but Daniel wasn't in the mood to hear it.

"Can't you just let Betty and I work this out for ourselves?" Daniel struck back.

"She's my little sister."

Daniel gestured towards the restaurant. "I realize that but she's my wife. We aren't dating. We exchanged rings and vowed to be together 'til death do us part. That means something."

"Does it? You walked away. I was there. I saw her cry every single night on the honeymoon that she was supposed to share with you," said Hilda. "Instead, you disappeared."

"Betty and I are working this out. I don't owe you an explanation." Daniel took a deep breath and blew it out. He could see that things were getting more complicated but he didn't mean to be so harsh. "Look…I really appreciate you being there for Betty. I was wrong. I know it but Betty and I will work this out between the two of us. It's complicated enough without dragging everyone else into it."

"I guess you do have a point." Hilda gently nodded. "I just don't want to see her get hurt."

"Hilda, I love Betty and I know you do too." Daniel tried to calm himself. "I just need to let me take care of her now….especially now that she might be pregnant with my child."

He flashed back to his and Betty's nights in France together. It felt surreal that this was happening and he couldn't wait to Betty back to his hotel room a few blocks away, where they could talk about this privately.

He wanted to know why she thought she was pregnant. How long she had suspected she was pregnant? Did you take a test? Was it negative? Was it positive? Is that what the doctor's appointment was for? Why didn't she tell him? Did she not want him there to get the happy news?

He even wanted to know that what she planned to do, if he had never come back. Would she have found a way to tell him that she was pregnant with his child?

_OH MY GOD! He was going to be a father. _

He felt the blood drain from his face as he realized what that really meant; it meant that the day he walked away. He not only walked away from Betty but he had walked away from their child. Now he felt even worse….yet, even more determined than ever to make things work and give their child the life that he didn't have.

_A normal family life. A normal childhood._

"Daniel, are you okay?" Hilda asked, reaching for his arm.

"Yeah…" God. He was lying. He wasn't okay. "No…I'm not okay. Hilda, I left her and….our baby." His heart thumped so fast. He felt dizzy and light headed and he reached for a near-by wall. He needed to pull it together.

"She said she suspected that she's pregnant. We don't even know what that means." Hilda told him.

"She didn't say anything to you about this?" Daniel asked because right now, he wanted information. He needed to get Betty to the doctor or she needed to take a test. He would walk across the street and buy every damn pregnancy test in the store, if he had to.

"Not a word. In fact, if she had, I would have just left this between the two of you." Hilda shook her head. "I'm sorry that I barged in and messed everything up."

Daniel nodded. "Okay."

"I know that Betty's going to come out of there soon. I'm going to go ahead and leave because I think that it would just be better for the two of you to sort things out," said Hilda. "If Betty needs me, just call me…and tell her to call me when she knows something."

"I will."

She turned to leave and then turned back. "Just one more thing and I promise that I will but out of your life, I think that you and Betty need to tell everyone what has been going on before someone else find out and breaks the news."

Daniel gave a nod of acknowledgement. He knew that Hilda was right but it was not the most important thing right now. The most important thing to him was Betty and finding out what lied ahead for them.

* * *

Once she emerged from her hide out in the ladies room of the restaurant, she came out to find Daniel waiting for her patiently. Any signs of anxiousness he had obviously had time to work out during her 30 minutes that she had been hiding out, trying to figure out what to say to him because that was not the way she wanted to tell him that she might be carrying their baby.

When she met Daniel on the sidewalk, she saw that Hilda was gone and he just waited for her, he took her hand and led her down the block to a small hotel.

"Daniel, we are staying here." Betty glanced around, as he opened the door. When he opened the door, she saw that they had not only staying the night. It was clear that Daniel had been staying here for weeks.

She walked inside. It was clean….and no-where near what Daniel was used to. "You have been staying here."

"Yes." He closed the door and locked it behind him. "Betty, are you pregnant? You haven't said a word since we left the restaurant."

He seemed anxious to skip the small talk and get right down to the matter at hand.

"I don't know."

He moved towards her. She couldn't look at him. "What do you mean? What makes you think that you are pregnant?"

She shrugged. "The pills that I was on were recalled…and."

"The research that you were doing tonight, it wasn't an article. It was for you," said Daniel. It seemed like lighting had finally struck. He had gotten what she had been trying to tell him.

"Yes." She nodded.

"Why didn't you just tell me?" Daniel asked. "Did you think I wouldn't notice that your stomach was getting bigger? Or when you started showing up with a baby with my eyes?"

"I was going to tell you. I was just scared that you would go away again," Betty admitted. "You have enough to deal with. A marriage is one thing. Parenthood is another."

"I know I walked away from you once but Betty, I would never knowingly leave you and our child. So you don't need to be afraid of that." Daniel closed the distance between them. "Have you taken a test?"

"No. I'm too terrified. That's why I made the doctor's appointment. I wanted to find out what was going on and if I'm not pregnant, I wanted to get on something else."

"You shouldn't have to go through this alone," said Daniel. "Do you want me to go get a test? There is a pharmacy across the street."

"You would do that." Betty looked up at him, as he moved closer.

"Yes. Of course."

"It's late. I don't want you out on there," said Betty. She reached for him, not wanting him to leave her here alone. She also didn't want him to be wandering around Queens at this hour either. "We can find out tomorrow."

"Are you sure? Cause I want to know."

"I do too. I just want tonight to be about us," said Betty. "Is that okay?"

He reached forward and brushed her hair away from her face and caressed her cheek. "That's fine. I guess I'll just have to find something to distract me."

"I think I can help with that." Betty flashed a bright smile and then pulled him down to her. Her lips onto his and she kissed him. As he wrapped his arms around her waist, he deepened the kiss, pulling her closer.

When he broke away, he still held her close. "Betty…"

She brought her finger to his lips to quiet him. They would talk more. She just wanted him and she brought his lips quickly back to his. He seemed to get the message because he didn't resist this time.

As they kissed, she simultaneously took her hands and ran them inside his jacket. She didn't care that he was wearing a designer suit. With a soft thud of the designer garment against the cheap Berber carpeting, she felt herself more anxious as she did their first night…but she wasn't in the mood to be shy tonight.

Betty was in the mood to make up for lost time because tomorrow everything could change. Betty needed this like she had never needed anything before. It excited her and frustrated her as she fumbled with the buttons on his dress shirt. She was failing miserably though…as she ripped the white shirt open with a forceful pull. Button flew in all directions.

Daniel seemed amused and shocked by her impulsive actions. "Ohh…I'm so glad I married you."

Betty couldn't help but giggle. He was adorable. "I feel the same way…now shut up and kiss me."

And he did.

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	19. Chapter 19

**The Breaking Point **

_Author's Note: Thank you for the feedback and comments. I appreciate it. There is one more chapter to go._

* * *

**Chapter 19**

As Daniel stepped off the elevator, he felt like he had an extra spring in his step and a new lease on life this morning. The reasons for this were many. However, there were two that were that were on the top of his list.

The first was the fact that he had woken up with his beautiful wife, who was resting peacefully in his arms, after a night of unbridled passion that reignited their relationship, just the memory of it left Daniel weak and aching for more

The second reason was the fact that that beautiful wife wasn't feeling well this morning.

_Possible morning sickness? _

Of course, Betty kept telling him that it was too soon for that. Still, he couldn't help but feel excited about the possibility of a new life growing inside of her.

_Another sign of their new beginning A little boy with his eyes. A little girl with her dark hair. Maybe one of each._

To say that his excitement was getting the best of him would be an understatement. After he ran out and got breakfast for Betty and left her to rest at their hotel, he had stopped on his way to work and bought the baby, their first gift.

_A baby duck._

He knew Betty and he knew that she would tell him that he was insane for doing something like this, before they even had confirmation on her pregnancy. He knew that she would love the baby duck, just like he knew their baby would too.

"Someone's in a good mood this morning." Amanda commented, as she held out a stack of messages about four inches thick. It must have been every single message for the past few months. Lots of work he had ahead of him…but it didn't bother him one bit.

Yes. I am." He grinned like an idiot.

"Oh…Suzuki's people called. They said that Suzuki needed to talk to you about something," said Amanda. "And he wants the exclusive."

"Exclusive what?" Daniel asked curiously.

"Who knows?" Amanda shrugged.

Dealing with Suzuki was just another reminder that he was back and about the challenges that were lying ahead for him….and Betty.

He couldn't think about that though. The last thing he wanted to think about was Suzuki. Last night, he and Betty had a new start. Things were changing and an even bigger change in his and Betty's would be coming soon.

And as soon as they got through with doctor's appointment, he and Betty would tell their families about their marriage…hopefully, their child, tonight.

Daniel continued to shuffle through the message- half messages, half pictures that Amanda had drawn on pieces of paper.

"So…did you and Betty kiss and make up?" Amanda asked bluntly, as she leaned across the desk.

Daniel was stunned. "What….what do you mean?" He just stared at the wide eyed blonde. "Why would Betty and I need to….uh…kiss and make up?"

"Oh…well, it seemed like you too were having some kind of disagreement? She was running from you yesterday….and Betty never runs unless there are free donuts…or free tacos….or well, any kind of food."

"Betty and I are fine." Daniel said simply. He calmed himself. There was no way that Amanda could possibly know that he and Betty were married and there was no point in giving Amanda any more information because it seemed very likely that Amanda was fishing for information.

He wasn't biting though. The last minute details had to be dealt with before their made their big announcement.

Speaking of details, he needed to reschedule his therapy appointment since it was going to conflict with Betty's doctor's appointment. He also needed to find a place for them to live. He knew that Betty didn't mind the small hotel room but he needed to find a suitable place where they could live. There was so much to do.

"Daniel…" He heard his name called from down the hall. He turned to see Betty rushing towards him with something in her hand.

"Betty, what are you doing here? I thought…" She flew at him, throwing her arms around his neck, forcefully. He dropped the bag containing the baby duck he had purchased, when he wrapped his arms around her supportively.

"Oh…My God!" Amanda shrieked. "Betty's pregnant." Everyone stopped what they were doing. Betty released her grip on him and he lowered her to the floor and now he could see what had been concealed behind his back until now.

His eyes fell down onto the stick in her hand. The positive pregnancy test.

* * *

The thirty minutes that it had taken Betty to get to the Meade building had felt like the longest of her entire life. Now, she was in his arms as they celebrated and now she felt like she could breathe again.

"It's so cute, Daniel." Betty held the tiny duck in her lap. She knew that Daniel was going to be a great father.

"I know it was crazy to buy something before we knew…but I couldn't help it. I guess my instincts just told me that we were pregnant," said Daniel shyly.

"I guess that Meade men are very fertile, "said Betty.

"I hate to say this but I'm almost thankful for that defective birth control," Daniel admitted.

"Well, I guess it was meant to be." Betty's heart thumped faster, as his eyes floated down to her stomach.

"Just like us," Daniel took her hand. His thumb rubbing against her fingers of her left hand where her wedding ring rested.

"Yes." She giggled.

"I just can't believe this though. I thought you were going to wait until this afternoon." Daniel held her tightly.

"Daniel, I know what I said. I couldn't wait" Daniel loosened his grip on her. "As soon as you left, I ran over to the pharmacy and bought a test."

"You should have called me. I would have come back," said Daniel. "I would have stayed with you and we could have celebrated privately."

"You aren't mad that I didn't wait for you?" She asked.. "I know last night you were ready to go buy every test they had but I told you no and that we could wait until the appointment."

"No…" He kissed her on the forehead. "Never. I could never be made at you.

"You are happy?" She looked up at him.

"I am." Daniel nodded.. "Are you?"

"Yeah…now that I have you back and I know you aren't going anywhere," said Betty.

"I'm not going anywhere. I promise." Daniel reached down to graze her stomach. "My family is here and that's where I belong. Now I just have to work on the home part." He leaned in to kiss her, when the door flew open before their lips could touch.

They pulled apart as Matt stood in the doorway. "Is it true?" He moved towards them.

"Is what true?" Betty glanced over at Daniel, unsure of how to answer.

"The whole office is saying that you are pregnant," said Matt. "Is it true?"

Why should it matter to Matt that she was pregnant? She quickly decided that the truth was the best thing. The truth had to come out.

"Yes." She nodded.

"You are pregnant." Matt obviously needed things to be clarified.

"I said yes." Betty rolled her eyes. "I am pregnant."

A smiled crossed Matt's face. "We are going to have a baby." He moved towards her.

"Matt….I." Betty froze. She knew that Matt misunderstood.

Daniel saw her panic and quickly got up to block Matt's advance. "No…."

"Let me by, Daniel. I want to see Betty."

"I said no," said Daniel. "It's not your baby, Matt."

Betty sat behind Daniel unable to look at Matt or anyone else. She could understand why Matt would think it was his. After all, they had only broke up two months ago. It's wasn't out of the range of possibility. However, Betty had no doubts who the father of her child was.

"It's Henry's?" Matt asked. "I should have…."

"No…Betty and I are going to have a baby," said Daniel.

"I knew something was going on," said Matt. "You've been sleeping with him all along? Haven't you? I can't believe you had me convinced that you were the only assistant that he never slept with."

The next thing, Betty knew Daniel's fist flew towards Matt and landed square in the face. He flew onto the floor.

"Daniel…" Betty yelled as she reached to grab for him to keep him from finishing Matt off.

"Don't ever talk to my wife like that again?" Daniel said, as he backed off her sake.

"Are you getting this?" Suzuki asked.

Betty turned around and saw Suzuki and his camera man standing in the doorway.

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	20. Chapter 20

**The Breaking Point**

_Author's Note: Okay! Not the last chapter. The ending would be way too abrupt if I did that…so I hope you continue to enjoy for just a bit longer. Not much happening in this chapter but it is leading up to the end. Thank you for the feedback and comments. I appreciate them._

**Chapter 20**

* * *

It was a full-blown media frenzy like nothing Daniel had ever seen. It was way worse than when Daniel and Molly had gotten married…and it had only been a few hours since Suzuki had broken the story to the world.

As he and Betty left the doctor's office, they were engulfed in a sea of crazed paparazzi, pushing and shoving them to get closer for photos of Daniel and his new wife. A mass of question about their relationship were being thrown at them, left and right. Everything from questions about Daniel's faithfulness to Molly…to what they planned to name the expected bundle.

To add to the chaotic situation, one of those reporters nearly pushed Betty to the ground. Thankfully, Daniel had been able to reach out and grab her before she tumbled down to the ground, hurting herself and risk being tramped.

It was enough to make Daniel's blood boil with anger. This was getting ridiculous. How did they even know they were at the doctor's office anyway? Did they follow them?

Daniel just knew that there was no regard for their privacy at all. He was grateful once he was able to get her safely into the back of the town car.

"Are you okay?" Daniel assessed her for any scratches or scraps. If they harmed any inch of her, he was going back out there and making them sorry they ever heard of Daniel Meade. In fact, he was about two seconds from giving a repeated performance of his punching skills on that reporter for almost bring harm to Betty.

She nodded. "Yeah." She seemed to have trouble catching her breath. "Uh…I think so. That was really….intense."

"I know…It's like they are out for fresh meat." Daniel moved closer, wrapping his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer in. He could feel her trembling a bit. He had to admit that even with his vast experience with the press. He was too.

"And we are on the menu." Betty tried to manage a smile. She failed though. "I've never seen it like this."

"I feel like going to Byron's...Suzuki's….or whatever the heck his name's house and giving him a piece of my mind. He couldn't just keep this quiet." Daniel could barely contain his fury at the tiny little man. "How would he like it if we spilled his secret about his wife and kids?"

"He's just doing his job, Daniel." Leave it to Betty to defend the annoying reporter, who had always been a thorn in Daniel's side.

"Yeah…but this is the last thing that we needed. You don't need the stress. Plus, we haven't even been able to discuss any of this with family," said Daniel. "Do you still want to go to Queens?"

"Yes. I think we need too…and then we have to go see your mom."

"Mr. Meade…." The driver spoke up, looking through the rear view mirror into the backseat.

"Yes."

"I believe we are being followed," said the driver.

Daniel turned around for a moment and glances through the back window. Sure enough, they were being followed.

"Try to lose them." Daniel turned around and ordered the driver. "Drive around awhile…maybe, they'll give up."

"Wishful thinking. You know they won't give up until they get what they want."

"I just don't get it. It's not like this is a big deal. People get married and have babies every single day," said Daniel.

"I hate to tell you what you probably should already realize, Daniel but you aren't everyone else. This is a huge story," said Betty.

With a sigh, she continued. "After all, it was only a few months ago, you were widowed and only a short amount of time later, you were married….to a member of your staff who is now pregnant with your child….and might I add, is also the assistant that they dubbed as Ugly Betty."

That name…Daniel hated that name. It was insulting because Betty was one of the most beautiful and kind people that he knew.

"Stop that!" He said with a slightly harsh tone.

"It's the truth." Betty looked up at him sadly. Then, she looked away.

"You are beautiful, Betty." He lifted her chin, so that their eyes met "and I love you."

A subtle smile came to her face, as her eyes glistened with tears. He leaned in to kiss her when his cell phone broken into their moment. He continued to move forward though. There was no way he was answering that, not when he had to show his wife just how he felt about her.

Just as their lips touched, Betty looked at him. "You better answer it."

"Uhh…He groaned and reached into his pocket. He saw that it was his mother that seemed to be urgently trying to reach him, having called twice already over the past minute.

"Hi, Mom!" Daniel answered.

"Daniel Emerson Meade!" His mother snapped. "What have you done?"

At the sound of her mother shriek, Daniel couldn't help but slide down in the leather seat just a bit. He knew he was in trouble.

"What do you mean?" Daniel looked over at Betty, who was biting her lower lip. He wondered if playing dumb would work….like it did when he was 10 and broke his mother's favorite vase."

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. You know you aren't too old for me to take you over my knee."

"Mom! I'm 35," said Daniel.

"Whatever. You just disappear and don't call…and then I find out that you left your wife and….now I find out that you left your baby too. Just wait until I get a hold of you," said Claire.

"Mom, I don't really have time. We are being followed by the paparazzi." Daniel turned slightly to confirm that they were not only still being followed but they were getting closer. "And we are on our way to Queens…"

"Go to Meade."

"How's that supposed to fix anything?" Daniel questioned. "That's just going to make it worse."

"Just do it." His mother ordered. "Tell the driver to drive around and I'll tell you when I have all the arrangements made."

* * *

Thirty minutes later, Betty and Daniel drove into the Meade parking garage, only to see the entrance blocked off by security upon their arrival. Daniel had been tight lipped about what his mother had told him and she really wanted to know what was going on.

As the car came to a stop of the second floor of the parking garage, she looked over at Daniel. He reached for her hand and led her out of the car, where her eyes fell onto five other town cars, with darkened windows waiting for them.

"What's going on?" She asked as they moved toward the third car.

"I need you to trust me. I want you to be safe and there is too much chance that if you go to Queens that paparazzi won't be there waiting for us," said Daniel. "Mom has a place for you to go where you will be safe until this blows over."

"I need to see my family. I have to explain…"

"I'll bring them to you. I need to go to Queens and pick up my things. I'll go by your father's house. I think that I owe him a talk….a man to man talk. After all, I did rush off and marry his daughter without his permission," said Daniel.

"Not to mention….the fact that you are pregnant." Daniel added.

"I don't think you should go alone," said Betty. "Papi likes you but I'm afraid his opinion might be affected by recent events. We need to talk to him together."

"I need to be a man," said Daniel. "By going to him alone, I'm hoping that he will see that I can be worthy of you. I've screwed this all up enough, Betty. I need to do this for you and our baby."

"Daniel, you are worthy of me," said Betty. "You hold me up. I hold you up. We are stronger together."

"I know…" Daniel opened to door for her. "and I don't know what I would do without you." The lead town car pulled away, empty.

"Me either. I hope neither of us has to be without the other for a really long time," said Betty.

He smiled. "I'll see you soon. I love you." The second town car pulled away, empty.

"Love you too." She reached up and gave him a quick kiss. A few second later, Daniel helped her into the car and closed the door.

She looked out the back window as the car pulled away, while Daniel stood there and watched until the car drove turned the corner. Her heart ached because she really knew she should be going with him to Queens but she trusted him.

He would bring her family to her…whether they were mad or not. He would deliver. She trusted that and she also believe that no matter what everything was going to work out.

Once the smoke cleared and the media moved onto the next "hot" story, they would be able to live a normal life somehow.

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	21. Chapter 21

**The Breaking Point**

_Author's Note: Thank you for the feedback and comments. I appreicate it. This is the end of the story here. I considered doing an epilogue. Not sure. If I do, it'll be a short one. I think that everything was wrapped up very well for them and they have a new beginning._

**Chapter 21**

When his mother said that she had a plan, he didn't imagine that it would be as elaborate and detailed as this. Her plan started at Meade, where there were four other town cars waiting for them.

Three empty ones. One for Betty and one for him.

Then, they were dispersed into different directions throughout the city. He had to wonder what Betty's journey had entailed. His journey had involved a short trip on a helicopter, taking off in one part of the city and landing in another, where yet another town car was waiting to take him to Queens.

_Talk about trying to throw the paparazzi off their path. He didn't think that Suzuki would have even been able to sniff out his trail._

After his complicated journey, he made a quick stop back at his hotel in Queens where he packed his things. By the time, he found himself in a town car on the way to the Suarez house, almost three hours gone by. Now, he was only a few minutes away from facing the music and jumping one of the final hurdles into his and Betty's new life.

A hurdle he should have already crossed sooner than this moment.

"I 3U." He glanced down at the text from Betty.

"I 3U 2. Where are you?" He replied back quickly. The simplest contact with her seemed to have a soothing effect on him and right now, he needed all the help that he could get. He was about to face Betty's father…who under normal circumstances liked him….now, it could be a whole other story.

Suddenly, he wished that he had gotten more information about Betty's story that her father had killed a man in Mexico. _She had to be kidding about that! Right?_

He waited anxiously for a reply back from the woman he loved. Just one more tiny text….to help him. But then, the car came to a stop outside the Suarez residence and he knew that there was no point in delaying this any longer.

Daniel put his phone away and got out of the town car and slowly moved up the path to the foot door of the modest home. As he glanced around, he was surprised that there didn't seem to be a single reporter or photographer in sight. It was quiet….almost too quiet.

_Eerily quiet._

So quiet, he was waiting for Suzuki to launch a surprise attack and jump out the trash cans in the alley or to parachute down from the sky.

While Daniel waited for someone to answer the door, he did his best to calm him rapid heartbeat. Maybe, he should have brought Betty with him…but it was too late for that though.

_Pull it together, Daniel. What was Betty's father going to do anyway? He and Betty were already married and expecting a baby…and Betty loved him._

Finally, the door opened and there was Betty's father standing there with a stern look on his face. Daniel knew that this was not going to go well at all.

_Good or bad. It had to be done though._

"Uh… …hi." Daniel felt a sudden rush of discomfort.

"Come in." The elder Suarez left the door opened and wandered back towards the living room. Daniel took a deep breath and went inside.

Once inside, he found Ignacio sitting in the corner chair. His hands folded. His face was blank. Daniel had faced a lot of things in his life but this was the scariest thing that he had ever faced….and that was saying a lot since his father was Bradford Meade, the one person that Daniel had to try to gain the approval of and never quite felt like he would ever measure up to the expectations that his father had thrown at him.

The man before him though was nothing like Daniel's own father. He was the man that Daniel wanted to be like. If there was anyone that was a great example of what a father should be, it was Betty's father.

"I guess you know what Betty and I got married." Daniel wasn't quite sure how to start this but right to the point, seemed like a good place right now. It didn't seem that Ignacio wanted to talk about the weather. "And she's pregnant….but I'm sure….you heard all that on television."

Ignacio just nodded. His face unchanged as Daniel just stood there before him. He wished that he could read Betty's father's mind right now. He wondered if he was trying to find a way to get bury Daniel's lifeless body….and still have dinner on the table for his family.

Daniel continued. "That's not how Betty and I wanted to tell everyone." Daniel thought it might be best not to mention that Hilda knew about his and Betty's marriage. He was in deep enough. He didn't need to drag someone else down with him. "We were going to tell everyone the day we got married but things…didn't go as planned and then we…I mean, I needed some times to sort out and deal with things in my life. My regret is that I hurt Betty in the process and I will spend every day trying to make up for the fact that I walked away from her…for a single second."

Betty's father still sat there in silence. Daniel felt like he was trial, as he stood there grasping for something to get Mr. Suarez to say something to him….anything. The silence was actually starting to actually starting to upset him. Then, he felt a surge rush and determination. He wasn't just going to stand here and allow the silence to swallow him up.

He would gladly defend his feelings for Betty…even if it took every single last bit of breath he had in his body to do so.

_Betty was everything to him. Everything._

"I love her." Daniel said loudly. "I love her…and I love our baby." He repeated. "And I'm far from perfect but I am going to keep trying to be the man that she deserves."

"Okay." Ignacio finally spoke.

"Okay?" Daniel shook his head a bit, unclear that his answer had been that short. Didn't he want to yell or something? Didn't he want to tell her that he didn't deserve Betty?

Because _that_ was what Daniel had come here expecting.

"Yes." The elder man chuckled a bit. His expression was one of amusement, as he got up and made his way towards him.

"You aren't mad?" Daniel had to ask.

"Well….I wouldn't go that far. After all, you did steal away my youngest daughter….but I believe that you love her and that you will take care of her and my grandchild. And as for being perfect….no one is, not even me. All I care about is that Betty is happy and as long as she is, that is good enough for me."

Daniel smiled. "I'll try to make her happy. I promise."

"You already do make me happy." He heard Betty's voice. He turned to see her standing at the bottom of the stairs, with his mother and Hilda close behind. "And I never said I wanted you to be perfect. I kind of like my Daniel with a few flaws."

"Betty…" He stepped forward to wrap his arms around her, as he practically flew across the room towards him. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to some place safe."

"I am safe in your arms, Daniel." She looked up at him. "Anyway, it appears that the joke is on us…"

"What?" Daniel looked around.

"Papi and your mother have known for almost two weeks ago that we got married," said Betty.

"And you didn't say anything?" He looked at his mother.

"You were the one that disappeared and wouldn't return my calls. Anyway, I ran into Judge Matthews a few days…after your exit and he asked me how the newlyweds were. Of course, I had no idea that he was talking about your and Betty until he told me that he married the two of you in his office. While Betty and Hilda were on their trip, I had lunch with Ignacio and told him what the two of you had been up to."

"When I got back, neither of them wanted to bring up the marriage because they knew that it would upset me…and Hilda was clueless. She had no idea that they knew the truth," said Betty, as she still held onto Daniel.

"We made a big mess, didn't we?" Daniel gazed into her eyes.

"It's okay. Life is supposed to be messy sometimes. The only thing that matters now is that we are together and that soon….we are going to have a baby and we are going to be a happy family," said Betty.

"You are right. That is the only thing that matters." Daniel gazed in her brown eyes, as he felt the tension he had felt earlier melt away.

"Now that everything is out in the open….the two of you need to get to the airport," said Claire.

"Airport?" Daniel turned to look at his mother.

"Well, you have to get out of the city for a few days. Otherwise, you will never get any peace with the media hounding you every second of the day. The Meade jet is waiting to take the two of you to the Bahamas," said Claire. "I guess…it will kind of be like a working honeymoon."

She added. "The plane leaves in an hour."

"What? I can't…"

"What do you mean you can't?" Daniel asked.

"I need to pack. I don't have anything to wear," said Betty.

Daniel chuckled. "Honey….it's our honeymoon. We don't need that many clothes….if any." He grabbed her hands, as he tried to pull her towards the door.

"Daniel!" Betty blushed profusely. Everyone laughed.

"I sent somethings to the plane for the two of you. I'm sure that you will be just fine," said Claire. "The car is waiting."

Daniel smiled at Betty. "I think our future is waiting on us."

"Okay…." She said playfully. "Let's go."

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